tS 
snare those bees who have the imprudence to let them- 
selves be caught. ‘The ravages which these spiders commit, 
are too inconsiderable to injure the population of the hive; 
but bees, who do not accommodate themselves to such 
filth, abandon their domicile, if they cannot get rid of 
them. © 
_ It is during winter that the spiders insinuate themselves 
into the hive, without being perceived by the bees. The 
avenues are too well guarded in summer, to allow them to 
mtrude into the hives, when the bees are full of vigour and 
courage. When the hives are to be cleaned, it is essen- 
tially necessary to examine their interior, and to remove 
the spiders, who ordinarily spread their webs in the 
corners, and but for these webs, the bees would extricate 
themselves from this sort of enemy, who have no weapon 
_ to oppose the sting. 
/.* The most dangerous and redoubtable enemy of bees, 
' is the false moth. This is a little caterpillar, produced 
from an egg laid by the phalene or night butterfly, which 
often destroys itself in our apartments, in the flames of 
candles, and which lay their eggs in tapestry and other 
stuffs. This same kind of butterfly, on the return of spring, 
is very common in the country; they are seen in swarms 
about old oaks, where they are hatched in the mosses on 
the bodies and branches of trees. This butterfly flutters 
day and night around bee-hives, and they often introduce 
themselves into the hives, when the families are weak, and 
not well guarded by the bees. They lay their eggs in the 
combs. ‘Che concentrated heat in the hive, hatches thems 
little worms come out, which live as young bees do, with- 
out the care of father, mother, or nurse; and these little 
worms become caterpillars, which are known by the name 
_ of false moths. 
M. Varombey, author of the French hive, in his treatise 
on the culture of bees, gives a perfect statement of the 
ravages of these insects, which, at first almost imperceptible, 
nourish themselves on the wax, which had served them for 
a cradle. While they are growing, they spin themselves a 
silken envelope, for a retreat—at first very small, but 
afterward as large as the bowl of a quill. These redoubt- 
able miners, perfectly secure in the midst of their enemies, 
extend their ramparts. as fast as they consume the wax. 
For the purpose of eating, they extend their head, armed 
with a casque or helmet, out of the shell or case which 
conceals them, and thus carry on their robberies. peaceably, 
