1877.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
367 
honey?" This question sagjjested aaother: which is 
the proper name, 
HUMBLE OK BUMBLE-BEE ? 
Upon looUiv^ up the origin of the names, I think that 
one is quite as correct ns Ihe other. Humble-bee is sup- 
posed to be from "Huramer-bec," a name given on ac- 
count of the noise it makes, and our Bumble-bee is also 
from the noise an insect makes as it " bumbles " around 
amougst the flowers. For a similar reason the Scotcti 
call it Bumbce, or Boom-bee, which is not far from Bum- 
ble-bee. For my own part. I alwaj-s prefer the names 
ihnt are in common use in this country. Some think it 
very vulgar t« say "huckleberry," but use whortleberry, 
becans.r they think it more correct. While in fact one is 
just as " correct " as the other. So when Bumble-bee is 
just as correct as Humble-bee, I prefer to Bumble — I 
have spoken of the Bumble-bee, as if there were only 
one, while the books tell ns that there are in this country 
some 40 species, but they do not tell us which are our 
most common ones, and in fact tell very little else ; the 
English works say there are also about 40 species in 
Britain, but as to whether any are found in both coun- 
tries, they are silent. Indeed, the '^American. Cyclopie- 
dia," in describing these bees, tells about and figures on- 
ly the European species. I mention all this to show how 
little is known about our commonest insects ; if any of 
yon should grow np to be naturalists— as no doubt some 
of you will— I hope you may study and tell about the very 
commonest insect and other animals, and not suppose 
that things are important in proportion to their rarity. 
As it is, I shall have to speak of the Bumble-bees as 
if there were but one, hut no donbt we have, as in 
Europe, several kinds that are quite common, some of 
Tvhich make their nests in the ground, others in moss, 
among stones, and in other places. 
"do bumble-bees store up honet ? " 
one would think could be answered very readily, but the 
fact is, that while they do gather and store honey, it is 
only for immediate use; they do not put up a store to 
feed upon in winter, ns do the honey-bees. The honey- 
bees, you know, build cells of wax, a material produced 
by their own bodies, and place these very closely, side by 
side, forming what is called a comb. These cells, two 
ranges of which are put end to end iu the comb, are most- 
ly six-sided, a shape which allows them to fit closely to- 
gether and waste no room. These cells answer a double 
purpose ; they are the places in whicli the young bees are 
raised, to increase the number, and they are also store- 
houses for food, especially of honey, of which they lay 
up enough to last them all winter. 
BEE3, LIKE MOST OTHER INSECTS, 
go through the changes I have often mentioned, 1st, the 
egg, 2nd, the larva, 3rd, the chrysalis or pupa, and 4th, 
the perfect insect, the winged (and usually " stinged") 
bee. All bees go through these changes, the social bees, 
like the honey and bumble-bees, which live in colonics 
or swarms, and the solitary bees, like the Mason, the 
Carpenter, and the Lcaf-cutter-bee, of ^ich one mother- 
bee undertakes, without help, to provide for the future 
waKtsof her family. Unlike the honey-bee, the Bumbles 
LAT UP NO STOKE FOR WINTER ; 
all but the females, or queens, die off" at the approach of 
cold weather, and these find in moss, or in holes in trees, 
a safe hiding place for the winter, where they stay all 
through the cold months in a torpid slate, and do not re- 
quire any food. When the warm days of spring come, 
these bees wake from their long sleep, and finding that 
the time has come for commencing business, they go 
bumbling around for a place in which they may open 
Bhop. They hunt among all the holes and crevices, and 
very often take up with an old nest of the field mouse. 
As the colonies of Bumbles are said to ncverconlain over 
300 bees, and 60 is about the average number, not a very 
large place is required. They sometimes sliow much 
ingenuity iu hiding their nest ; the entrance being among 
moss or grass, at some distance frt)ra the nest itself. The 
Bumbles arc much less orderly iu their honsekceping 
than the Honeys, and tliey go at, it in a diftercnt way. 
The Honeys first build a neat waxen cell, a cradle for the 
young bee, in wliich it is fed, and finally put to sleep as a 
pupa. The Bumbles have both 
CRADl-E AND FOOD IN ONE. 
To begin opcralions, Mrs. Bumble collects a lot of pol- 
len — the dust which flowers &o abundantly produce — and 
makes this into an egg-shaped ball. She 
llion lays seveml eggs in this mass, and 
these soon hatch out the larval Bumbles, 
or nniggots, which are the second stage 
in the life of these insects. One of these 
masses, with the young mag;,ots, is shown 
^^S- 1- — CELL. j,i fljrure 1. As these grow and feed 
away upon the pollen, they make the mass into a cell, 
and when ready to spin their cocoons and undergo their 
changes, the parent bee covers this cell with a coating of 
coarse wax, and after a while the insects come out as per- 
rect buca. But i he queen has in the meantime started 
other cells of this kind, and when the first lot come out 
as perfect insects, they are ready to help her, and among 
them all the colony grows rapidly. The number of these 
cells soon increases, and some are built especially to 
hold honey, which is kept oi hand as food. Figure 2 
Fi^. 2. — bumble-bees' >-e3T. 
shows a section of a nest of the common European Bum- 
ble, which is lined with leaves and wax, and in which the 
cells are placed in an irregular manner, sometimes being 
held iu their places by rough pillars of wax. It is not 
rare that hoys, and sometimes men too, in the haying- 
field, break up a Bumble's nest for the sake of the few 
spoonfuls of honey that they get. I do not know how it 
is with our bees, but in England, though the honey is 
very finely flavored, it very often makes those who eat it, 
even in small quantities, very sick. The Bumbles have 
not only these 
TWO-LEGGED ENEMIES 
to disturb them, but the field-mice have a very *' sweet 
tooth," and rob them of their stores. Besides these, 
they have several insect enemies, one of which is about 
the size of, and looks so much like a bee as to be mis- 
taken for one ; this lays its eggs in the bees' nests, and 
has its maggots fed by them, the bees apparently not 
knowing the difi"erence ; but when it comes out a perfect 
insect, instead of staying to help the bees keep liouse, it 
goes oflT on its own aflfairs, without paying for board, 
lodging, and nursing Such are the principal points in 
the hives of the Bumble-bees, but as we have so many 
different kinds, they may vary somewhat in their ways. 
If any of j'ou wish to Uike-up the study of our Bumbles, 
you will no doubt find much about them that is not down 
in the books. When the flowers fade and the frosts come, 
the lives of the male bees come to an end, and the few 
females hunt up a hiding place and go into winter quar- 
ters Several weeks ago, a gentleman in Virginia 
sent me specimens of the largest beetle in the country, 
THE GREAT RHINOCEROS BEETLE. 
That you may see a portrait of the creature I give yoa 
one in fig. 3, of life size. The horn-like projections in 
front are found only on the male, though the female is 
qutte as large. They vary greatly in color; those sent 
Fig. 3. — RHINOCEROS BEETLE, LIFE SIZE. 
me were two males and one female ; the males were of a 
grayish-green color with blackish spots and blotches, and 
the markings quite unlike, while the female was black- 
ish brown without any of the light color. The ento- 
mologists call these insects Dynwifes, which is the ancient 
Greek and Latin name for u prince or ruler— probably 
thinking that they are large enough to rule the rest. 
But ours are pygmies compared to a Rhinoceros Beetle 
found in South America, which is full six inches in 
length 1 Ours belongs to the Southern States, but has 
been found as far north as Philadelphia. Their grub 
state is paased in decayed stumps, and os they feed upon 
rotten wood they do little or no harm. But what do 
you suppose was the reason my Virginia friend sent the 
specimens, and wished to know something about them? 
They were very abundant about his place, being espec- 
ially lively in the evening ; they were so numerous that 
his family had to stay in the house at night— not tbat 
they were afraid that the insect would hurt them, for 
they can neither bite nor sting— but on account of 
THE HORRIBLE ODOR THET GIVE OFF ! 
The insects came in a tin box and in very lively order. 
In placing them in a glass jar their odor so filled the 
room that I was glad to cover them with the cap 
of the jar, and open all the windows. It is of no use to 
try to describe the stench, for it is worse than several 
dead dogs, and other unpleasant things. Indeed I do 
not think I ever " emelled a smell ■" quite so unpleasant, 
and I really pitied the Virginia family who were obliged 
to endure it. I intended to keep the beetles alive for 
some days to watch their movements, but the cover of 
the jar was not air tight, and I could not tolerate them, 
80 I poured some alcohol over them and 
MADE SPECIMENS OF THEM. 
In looking up the history of this insect, I was quite 
surprised to find that this peculiarity— and the most im- 
portant so far as man is concerned— its ability to make 
itself exceedingly disagreeable, was not mentioned in 
any of the hooka But this is enough insect talk for 
this time, though there are some others that I would like 
to tell you about Here is a question from one of our 
hoys in Pictou, Nova Scotia, who asks; "Can you tell 
me the best way 
TO MEND BROKEN GLASS WAKE?" 
If he had told what kind of glass, and what the ware 
was to be used for, I could have answered him better. A 
strong and colorless cement is made of isinglass (sturg- 
eons' swimming bladders) and gum mastic, but a boy 
would hardly be likely to make it properly, and con- 
sidering the difficulty of getting the materials, it will be 
as cheap to buy it ready made. It Is sold at the drug 
stores as "Diamond Cement" and by other names. 
One of the best cements for common use is sherac. This 
is melted and made into sticks as big as a lead-pencil, 
and used by melting it in the flame of a spirit lamp or 
candle, the pieces to be joined being made hot. Better 
still is it to dissolve shellac in strong alcohol, making it 
as thick as molasses— it will dissolve in a few days if set 
ina warm place. This is painted or smeared upon the 
broken edges of the glass, and the pieces are tied or 
held together until the cement is quite dry. 
Aunt Siic^M I'lizzle-ISox. 
SQUARE WORD. 
Make a square of four names ; four letters in each : the 
upper and lower, two girls' names : the second and third, 
two scriptural men's names. 
PUZZLE. 
Make a sentence, combining not more than nine letter?, 
out of which you can get (one at a time) all the personal 
pronouns. 
ANAGRAMMATICAL BLANKS. 
Fill the following blanks with the italicised words 
transposed. 
1. She ranted about the love and aflection of her . 
2. You would not call politicians orofr^r.-^ww^cT^ if they 
were very . 
3. There is soda, 2 /far in the — biscuits. 
4. \Vhen I engage in , 2 bag rulers and everything 
else worth two cents. 
5. I should think that that animal could "^ scoop rH>s'* 
(man and all) with his . 
TRANSPOSED CITIES. 
The meanings given of the transpositions. 
(For example.— A peddler (vender) :— City— Denver.) 
1. Braces. 3. Partsof a door. 3. A vessel. -1. A god. 
5. Additional. (J. A stick. 7. Passion. 
METAGRAM. 
Find the name (or title) of a certain ruler, composed of 
ft)ur letters, out of which you may get (1) a command, 
(•i) an entreaty, (3, 4) two animals, and (5) an idol. 
ANAGRAMS. 
1. Save Eb*s corn. 5. 
2. Concave inn. 6. 
3. Ural cavern. 
4. Train my nic.lc. S. 
Sam's bad cue. 
Luna ghost. 
Sour cheater. 
Mistic icc-scalos. 
ANSWERS TO PCXZLES IN TUB AUGUST NUMBBR. 
PrzzLK PiCTrnE.— (Rc^dn at the top Icft-li.ind comer, jro 
down. th'?n to the riclit. then up. etc.) 1. Clnrk (only the 
lark btu* flown out of Ihe piclnre, leaving llic " 100" [C] on 
the roof.) 2. t'ldnc. 3. Williams <.'!lck ninn In the window, 
etc.) A. llftll. S. Floyd, fi. Adams (A d.im S). 7. Hewcs. 
8. Lewis. 9. Rntlfdp«>. 10. CarroU. 11. Ross (How S S*. 
Vi. Rodney. 13. Rush (R U s \l). U. Pcnn. iri. Morris dOOO 
o'er ls>. Ifi. Read. 1". Stockton. IS. Paca. 19. llancocK. 
■Xi. Taylor (tho roostrr's tail and (HI). 21. Braxton. 22. 
Middlcton. 'J3. Bartlctt (Hiir-toa LET). 24. Franklin. 25. 
Lynch. 20. ^Ylthc^6poo^. 27. Wyihe. 2S. Stone. 29. Wnl- 
