1954] 
Michener and LaBerge — Bombus Nest 
65 
a record for size in bumblebee colonies, especially when 
it is realized that most large colonies previously recorded 
contained numerous males. 
Nearly all the adult bees were collected. Most of them 
were in the nest but a great many were afield. We are 
much indebted to Mr. I. Slesnick for help in capturing the 
returning bees, about half of which carried pollen. Bees 
returned at a rather steady rate from the time excavation 
WING length in mm- 
Figure 1. Frequency distribution of the size of the workers and the 
queen from the nest of Bombus medius Cresson based on wing length. 
The wings were measured from the proximal end of cell 1st M to the 
distal end of the marginal cell. We wish to thank Mr. Carl W. Retten- 
meyer for taking these measurements. 
began at 10:00 a.m. until about noon, and at a progressive- 
ly reduced rate until 1 :00 p.m. when the excavation work 
was complete. No doubt a few returned after this time 
and were not captured. These data indicate some foraging 
trips of very long duration. 
As shown in figure 1, measurements of the workers show 
