68 NATURAL HISTORY 



bee, only that the present species feed themselves, while the labourers 

 in the common bee feed the maggot. They feed upon the inner side 

 of the surrounding mass, by which means they increase the cavity as they 

 themselves grow ; and as they destroy the inside, the old one lays more on 

 the outside, so as to keep them always covered, which both incloses them 

 and serves them for food ; and as they grow, this square mass becomes 

 larger, commonly of an inch or more square ; so that the humble-bee 

 does not feed her young as the common bee, wasp, and hornet do. 



Their growth is pretty quick, for in about two weeks after hatching 

 they are ready to go into the chrysalis state. Like the wasp, hornet, 

 and common bee, their excrement is left in the cell, and dries, which 

 has often the appearance of bee-bread. When pretty large and ready 

 to get into the chrysalis state, they have almost ate up their sur- 

 rounding materials, which now make a very imperfect covering for them, 

 each maggot being of full size. 



They spin themselves a covering, which is at first attached to the 

 inner surface and edges of the holes of this mass, in which I have 

 detected them in all the stages of the formation of the cell, which is 

 similar to the food of other chrysalises ; but as there is a series of these 

 cells, and as they afterwards contain honey, they have, I believe, been con- 

 sidered as formed by the old bees for the purpose of breeding. Having 

 now covered themselves over, I believe that the old one, or ones, re- 

 move that part of the mass which remained ; for the cells become clean 

 on the outside, excepting on the under surface, which forms a union 

 between them, and, I believe, allows the cell afterwards to contain 

 honey the better. This cell is a complete cavity, similar to all that 

 make an entire pod ; not similar to the bee, wasp, or hornet, which only 

 line their cell formed by the labourers, and do not line the bottom. 

 These cells form a very regular cylinder, rounded off at each end, and 

 are very strong and thick in their coat. They are united at their 

 bottoms to each other with a brown substance, which, indeed, covers 

 the whole bottom of the cell : in this cell they cast their last maggot- 

 coat, and change into the chrysalis state, placing their head uppermost, 

 and in about eight days they are ready to come forth. Before the bee 

 comes forth from the pod, the queen deposits on the upper surface and 

 towards one edge of this square mass of pods, a mass of farina, in which 

 she lays some eggs, which she covers with the same materials as before. 

 These cells are placed at the beginning parallel to each other pretty 

 regularly, forming the first batch of pods, and are small ; but they 

 become more and more irregular as the formation of the mass of 

 cells proceeds. When the chrysalis has formed all the parts belonging 

 to the bee-state, it emerges from this cell or pod, throwing off, or 



