248 
HUMBLE-BEES. 
that period, success attends her exertions, for it is 
only in its first stage that the egg is sought after by the 
workers. 
In four or five days the eggs are hatched. The lar- 
vae, which differ from those of the hive-bee in bavins: 
their sides marked by irregular transverse black spots, 
feed primarily on the magazines previously deposited 
beside them, and are afterwards supplied by the work- 
ers, till they begin to spin their cocoons. In this 
operation, each larva separates itself from the group 
to which it has hitherto been attached, forming a 
lodgement for itself under the roof of the same roomy 
apartment where it had lived in society. Males and 
females are bred in the samo cell and fed in the same 
manner, and the cocoons of both are seen mingled 
together. It may seem difficult to comprehend how, 
in a cell of such small dimensions, the larvre can find 
room to grow, and separately to spin their coco*ons. 
The fact is, the cells acquire, in the meantime, a 
great addition in point of dimensions. As the inmates 
increase in size, the lateral pressure of their bodies 
bursts the slender walls of the cell, and the workers 
instantly set about repairing the rent, which they do, 
not by bringing the edges together, hut by placing a 
large patch upon it, the full extent of the opening, 
and, of course, augmenting by so much the capacity 
of the cell. A succession of rents, caused by the 
growth of each of the lame, is followed by a suc- 
cession of patches aud additions, till, at last, the cell 
is augmented to four or five times its original size ; 
and, as the operators by no means resemble their 
