1877.] 
387 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
honey ? ” This question suggested another: which is 
the proper name, 
HUMBLE OR BUMBLE-BEE ? 
Upon looking up the origin of the names, I think that 
one is quite as correct as the other. Humble-bee is sup¬ 
posed to be from “ Hummer-bee,” a name given on ac¬ 
count of the lioise it makes, and our Bumble-bee is also 
from the noise an insect makes as it “ bumbles ” around 
amongst the flowers. For a similar reason the Scotch 
call it Bumbee, or Boom-bee, which is not far from Bum¬ 
ble-bee. For my own part, I always prefer the names 
that are in common use in this country. Some think it 
very vulgar to say “huckleberry,” but use whortleberry, 
because they think it more correct. While in fact one is 
just as “ correct ” as the other. So when Bumbie : 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 us 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 Cyclopae¬ 
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 
you should grow up 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, but no doubt we have, as in 
Europe, several kinds that are quite common, some of 
which make their nests in the ground, others in moss, 
among stones, and in other places. 
“no BUMBLE-BEES STORE UP HONEY?” 
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, as do the honey-bees. The honey¬ 
bees, yon 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 in 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 which 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. 
BEES, 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 colonies 
or swarms, and the solitary bees, like the Mason, the 
Carpenter, and the Leaf-cutter-bee, of which one mother- 
bee undertakes, without help, to provide for the future 
wants of her family. Unlike the honey-bee, the Bumbles 
LAY UP NO STORE 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 \yinter, where they stay all 
through the cold months in a torpid state, 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 
shop. 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 never contain over 
300 bees, and 60 is about the average number, not a very 
large place is required. They sometimes 6how much 
ingenuity in hiding their nest; the entrance being among 
moss or grass, at some distance from the nest itself. The 
Bumbles are much less orderly in their housekeeping 
than the Honeys, and they go at it in a different way. 
The Honeys first build a neat waxen cell, a cradle for the 
young bee, in which it is fed, and finally put to sleep as a 
pupa. The Bumbles have both 
CRADLE AND POOD IN ONE. 
To begin operations, Mrs. Bumble collects a lot of pol¬ 
len—the dust which flowers so abundantly produce—and 
makes this into an egg-shaped ball. She 
then lays several eggs in this mass, and 
these soon hatch out the larval Bumbles, 
or maggots, which are the second stage 
in the life of these insects. One of these 
masses, with the young maggots, is shown 
Jig. 1. CELL. ; n fig Ure i. 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 bees. But ihe 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 on hand as food. Figure 2 
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 in their places by rough pillars of wax. It is not 
rare that boys, 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 
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 difference ; but when it comes out a perfect 
insect, instead of staying to help the bees keep house, it 
goes off on its own affairs, 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 you wish to take-up the study of our Bumbles, 
yon 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 1 me specimens of the largest beetle in the country, 
THE GREAT RHINOCEROS BEETLE. 
That you may see a portrait of the creature I give you 
one in fig. 3, of life size. The horn-like projections in 
front are found only on the male, though the female is 
quite as large. They vary greatly in color; those sent 
. 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 Dynastes, which is the ancient 
Greek and Latin name for a 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 passed in decayed stumps, and as 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 t 
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 that 
'they were afraid that the insect would hurt them, for 
they can neither bite nor sting—but on account of 
THE HORRIBLE ODOR THEY GIVE OPP 1 
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 “ smelled 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, 
so I poured some alcohol over them and 
MADE SPECIMENS OP 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 books.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 
boys in Pictou, Nova Scotia, who asks; “Can you tell 
me the best way 
TO MEND BROKEN GLASS WARE?” 
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 shellac. 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 
in a 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 Sue's* I*uzzle-I!»x. 
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 letters, 
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 affection of her ——. 
2. You would not call politicians sober spouters if they 
were very-. 
3. There is soda. If ear in the-biscuits. 
4. When I engage in-, 1 bag rulers and everything 
else worth two cents. 
5. I shonld think that that animal could “ scoop ribs ” 
(man and all) with his-. 
TRANSPOSED CITIES. 
The meanings given of the transpositions. 
(For example.—A peddler (vender):—City—Denver.) 
1. Braces. 2. Parts of a door. 3. A vessel. 4. A god. 
5. Additional. 6. A stick. 7. Passion. 
METAGRAM. 
Find the name (or title) of a certain ruler, composed of 
four letters, out of which you may get (1) a command, 
(2) an entreaty, (3, 4) two animals, and (5) an idol. 
ANAGRAMS. 
1. Save Eb’s corn. 5. Sam’s bad cue. 
2. Concave inn. 6. Luna ghost. 
3. Ural cavern. 7. Sonr cheater. 
4. Train my mcle. 8. Mistic ice-scales. 
ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN THE AUGUST NUMBER. 
Puzzle Picture.— (Begin at the top left-hand corner, go 
down, then to the right, then up, etc.) 1. Clark (only the 
lark has flown out of the picture, leaving the “ 100 ” [C] on 
the roof.) 2. Paine. 3. Williams (sick man in the window, 
etc.) 4. Hall. 5. Floyd. 6. Adams (A dam S). 7. Hewes. 
8. Lewis. 9. Rutledge. 10. Carroll. 11. Ross (Row SS>. 
12. Rodney. 13. Rush'(R U s H). 14. Penn. 15. Morris (1000 
o’er Is). 16. Read. 17. Stockton. 18. Paca. 19. Hancock. 
20. Taylor (the rooster’s tail and OR). 21. Braxton. 22. 
Middleton. 23. Bartlett (Bar-tea LET). 24. Franklin. 2:. 
Lynch. 26. Witherspoon. 27. Wythe. 28. Stone. 29. Wal- 
