HUMBLE-BEES AND FOXGLOVES. 329 



such of these as have been pierced, passing the others by. They 

 never, in any case, enter the corolla in the orthodox manner, 

 after finding that it is not perforated — that is to say, I have 

 never seen one do so. The same remarks apply to B. mast- 

 rucatus. 



Besides the above species of Humble-Bee there is another, 

 not very common, which I have not been able to identify. It is 

 brown, like B. hypnorum, but not more than half the size even 

 of the smaller forms of this, between which and the larger there 

 is a considerable difference. It is also less furry than B. hyp- 

 norum, or than Humble-Bees generally, such fur as it has being 

 mostly on the thorax. This small bee seems never to enter the 

 foxglove, but settles, instead, as both B. hypnorum and B. terres- 

 tris sometimes do, on the naked capsules, after the blossoms 

 have fallen, over the surface of which it passes its proboscis. 

 For some time I thought that the habits of this bee were in- 

 variable, since I never saw it either enter the cup of a foxglove, 

 or descend upon any part of the corolla, which it simply passed 

 by. One day, however, I found what appeared to me to be an 

 individual of this species inside a foxglove, in a drowsy or 

 lethargic condition, such as often overtakes Humble-Bees. On 

 taking it, out it fell to the ground, but, recovering, shortly, flew 

 off, and went directly to another blossom, on which it alighted, 

 and crawling to the base of the tube, outside, probed it through 

 a hole which I have now no doubt that it found there. For 

 some time after this I followed its movements, and saw that it 

 now always went to the naked ovaries, instead of either entering 

 or probing the cups, nor did it again alight on one of these. 

 From this, coupled with its appearance, I believe it to have been 

 the same small brown species that I had always before seen 

 acting in this manner, and never getting into the foxgloves. 

 Why, then, was it in one now ? But for this apparent recovery 

 one might suppose that it had crawled there to die, and it would 

 be interesting to know how long afterward it really lived. Many 

 bees, at this time, seemed, in appearance, near to death, 

 whilst others had died actually, as the natural termination, 

 apparently, of the same lethargic state. Bees, however, can 

 have no idea of death, a matter not within the grasp of their 

 intelligence, so that it would not be that, but the state of health 



