20 



Marvels of the Universe 



riioto ii/] 



{W. tSaiiUe Ke,U, F.Z.S. 



THE ROBBER CRAB. 



The crab that climbs trees is Kere seen engaged in pulling off the outer fibrous coating or oakum witb which the coco- 

 nut is covered. The crab to the left is carrying away a portion to its burro^v. 



memorable voyage of the Beagle, gives an example of its strength. He says : " Captain Moresby 

 confined one in a strong tin box . . . the hd being secured with wire ; but the crab turned down 

 the edges and escaped. In turning down the edges, it actually punched many small holes quite 

 through the tin." 



THE MAKING OF A BEE-CITY 



BY TICKXER EDWARDES, 



Author of " The Lore of the Honev-Bee," etc. 



To one knowing nothing about hive-life, the first sight of a swarm of bees hanging from the branch 

 of a tree in the soft May sunlight brings a feeling little short of amazement. We have always 

 thought of the hive-bee as a creature hovering from flower to flower, a winged atom making music 

 in the summer sunshine — useful as a honey-giver, but otherwise wholly inconsiderable in the scheme 

 of mundane affairs. But here suddenly she shows herself in a new and almost incredible aspect. 

 In a moment, as it were, her whole nature appears to have undergone a revolution. From the 

 apple-bough in the cottage-garden depends a brown, torpedo-shaped mass, bending the branch 

 almost double with its weight. It droops inert, and it is difficult to believe that it is composed of 

 twenty thousand living creatures, collectively engaged in what is the most important enterprise of 

 their existence. 



With the issue of the swarm, not only does a new bee-colony come into existence, but every 

 bee in the cluster begins an entirely new life. Only yesterday each was absorbed in the affairs of 

 the old home, passing busily to and fro between the hive and the clover-fields through every moment 

 of daylight ; intent only on its prosperity, and ready to defend it, if need be, at the cost of her 

 very life. But now aU this is past. When the signal for the departure of the swarm rang through 



