180 
seems to be her first choice, especially if in a crevice, 
as it affords the young worms the first food and protec- 
tion ; if no litter is found, any comb not covered with 
bees will be selected by her. As soon as the worm 
hatches, it begins to eat wax, bee-bread and brood, 
spinning a silky film in all its movements, and if the 
worms are numerous, the film often fills the hive like 
the cobweb of the spider. After three weeks of unceas- 
ing depredation, the worm has obtained its growth, 
and seeks a crevice or other secure place to spin its 
cocoon, wherein to undergo the change to a perfect 
winged moth-miller. 
There can be no moth-proof hive ; the miller is 
governed by nature and must lay her eggs somewhere, 
and she is usually successful in obtaining admission to 
the hive. The usual indications of the presence of the 
moth in a hive, are cuttings of wax mixed with black 
specks “ resembling grains of gunpowder,” the excre- 
ments of the moth. Strong stocks are a sure guard 
against the moth ; but while they overpower the moth 
by numbers, proper mechanical devices may overcome 
it to a great extent, turning the attention of the bees, 
engaged in constant battle with the moth, to honey 
gathering. In the common hive, hollow elder splits 
are laid on the bottom or under the edge of the hive, 
under which the moths usually crawl to spin their co 
coon after they have done the mischief ; by this mean'. 
