88 
THE IIONEY-MAKEKS. 
the porches, and in this simple way obtain large 
quantities of wax and honey. The honey is said 
to be contained in little bags about two inches 
in length, ranged along the hive in rows, with 
the cells for the young occupying the center. 
The Humble Bee. 
Next to the hive bee, which has been de- 
scribed at some length, the most familiar, per- 
haps, is the humble bee. It makes a loud hum- 
ming noise in flying ; whence we get the name ; 
in Latin, bombus, and in English, the bumble 
or humble bee. 
These live in small families compared with 
the large communities of hive bees, never num- 
bering more than three hundred, and often not 
more than sixty or seventy. They all perish in 
the winter with the exception of a few females 
which become the founders of a new colony in 
the spring. These females grow to a very great 
size, being about six times as large as the work- 
ers, and in the early spring-time may be seen 
prying into every hole and crevice in the ground 
to find a place suitable for a nest. If they can 
