152 
WILD BEES. 
July, 1889. 
wall, and deposited its egg in the cell from which it had been 
dislodged. 
Bombus. 
The social bees of this genus, commonly called humble 
bees, are so well known to every one that it is needless to say 
much about them. Besides the males and female their nests 
contain a third form, the workers or neuters. On the first 
warm days in the spring the females of the Bombi may be 
seen abroad after their hibernation. Each one of these is by 
herself the foundress of anest. She chooses a suitable spot above 
ground, if a surface builder,or some ready-made cavity, such as an 
old mouse hole, if an underground species, and here unassisted 
she collects a mass of pollen, and forms a few lioney-pots. in 
which is contained honey enough to keep the larval food 
sufficiently moist. From the eggs first laid there hatch out 
workers, which at once aid her in enlarging the nest, and 
gathering food for the increasing brood. Later on eggs are 
laid from which males and females are subsequently developed, 
but these are less in number than the workers. 
In the autumn the bees forsake their nest, the females 
alone surviving the winter. These hibernate beneath the 
bark of trees or under moss, or bury themselves beneath the 
soil, and may then be frequently met with when you are 
searching for Lepidopterous pupae. At this time they are 
often almost entirely covered with Acari , which remain on 
them throughout their existence, and from this cause they 
are sometimes quite unable to fly, and may be seen crawling 
about helplessly on the ground. 
Their nest, with its irregularly placed cells and small piece 
of comb, and the neat covering of moss or grass by which it 
is so well concealed, has been described again and again in 
books, and may be seen on almost any mossy bank and in 
every hayfield. No bees are liable to the attacks of so many 
enemies as these, for besides mice, which frequent similar 
situations, and spoil their nests, birds devour them in immense 
numbers. Very commonly you may find under the lime 
trees, sycamores, or horse-chestnuts, when in blossom, many 
dead specimens of these bees, and many still crawling about 
although partly eaten. This is the work of tits and other 
insectivorous birds, which form little bands of from six to a 
dozen individuals, and having devoured the contents of the 
body let the remainder fall to the ground. Of the Lepidoptera , 
the Galleria is a terrible enemy, its larvae infesting the nests 
in such numbers that the young are deserted by the bees. 
The Dipterous genus, Volucella, preys on their larvae, and 
from its abundance must be very destructive. These flies, in 
