THE BEE-MOTH. 
491 
ev^ening they take wing, when the bees are at rest, and 
liover around the hive, till, having found the door, they 
go in and lay their eggs. Those tliat are prevented by 
the crowd, or by any other cause, from getting within the 
hive, lay their eggs on the outside, or on the stand, and 
the little worm-like caterpillars hatched therefrom easily 
creep into the hive through the cracks, or gnaw a passage 
for themselves under the edges of it. 
These caterpillars, at first, are not thicker than a thread. 
Thev have sixteen leg's. Their bodies are soft and tender, 
and of a yellowish-white color, sprinkled with a few little 
brownish dots, from each of which proceeds a short hair ; 
their heads are brown and shelly, and there are two brown 
spots on the top of the first ring. Weak as they are, and 
unprovided with any natural means of defence, destined, too, 
to dwell in the midst of the populous hive, surrounded by 
watchful and Avell-armed enemies, at Avhose expense they live, 
they are taught how to shield themselves against the ven¬ 
geance of the bees, and pass safely and unseen in every di¬ 
rection through the waxen cells, which they break down and 
destroy. Beeswax is their only food, and they prefer the 
old to the new comb, and are always found most numerous 
in the upper part of the hive, where the oldest honeycomb 
is lodged. It is not a little Avonderful, that these insects 
should be able to get any nourishment from Avax, a sub¬ 
stance Avhich other animals cannot digest at all; but they 
are created Avith an appetite for it, and Avith such extraor¬ 
dinary poAvers of digestion, that they thri\'e Avell upon this 
kind of food. 
As soon as they are hatched they begin to spin ; and 
each one makes for itself a tough silken tube, Avherein it 
can easily turn around, and moA^e backAA^ards or forAA’ards 
at pleasure. During the day they remain concealed in their 
silken tubes; but at night, Avhen the bees cannot see them, 
they come partly out, and deA^our the AA^ax AAuthin their 
reach. As they increase in size, they lengthen and enlarge 
