116 
OBSERVATIONS ON THE 
large; they are very pernicious, as 
they devour both combs, honey, and 
bees. Sometimes, indeed, they will 
gnaw their way through the straw; 
but in this they may be detected by 
often inspecting the hive. 
The following anecdote, connected 
with our present subject, is related by 
Espinasse:— 4i Ia leaving the coun¬ 
try in 1809 ; among others, I left my 
oldest hive of considerable strength. 
In the beginning of spring I observed 
but few bees come out to work, and 
a general torpor seemed to pervade it; 
on turning it up, I observed one half 
of the hive filled with beech leaves, 
(a beech hedge forms one side of my 
