312 
BRITISH BEES. 
sncli intrusion;, although, like these, they have many ene¬ 
mies. In the very earliest spring months these Bombi 
are abroad; for as soon as the catkins of the sallow- 
are ripe for impregnation, they are on the wing. But 
it is now that the large females only are at work, for 
they have to create their companions before they can 
he surrounded by them. Their fruition is the result of 
the previous autumn’s amours, at a period too late to 
form sufficient stores for the numerous brood they will 
produce, and accordingly, after revelling in a brief honey¬ 
moon, they resort, like staid matrons, to a temporary 
domicile, some cavity just large enough for themselves. 
In this retirement they pass the cheerless wintry months, 
requiring perhaps the incubation of time thoroughly to 
mature their fruit. Whether this be the case or not, as 
soon as the earth begins to feel the warmth of the sun 
upon its return from its far southern journey, and to 
respond to the renewed vitality it gives to vegetation, 
these bees feel its active influence and come forth. With 
the progress of the spring and summer most flowers are 
exposed to their rifling, but they revel upon the elegant 
flowers of the Horse-chestnut, and their hum is the 
music of the lime when it is in blossom. According to 
the species, they select a cavity for their nest, or con¬ 
struct it upon the surface of the ground, this being the 
case with the carder-bees, which gather moss to con¬ 
struct their residence. In those which inhabit beneath 
the surface, the selection of an already formed cavity 
greatly abridges their labour, and their instinct prompts 
them to choose one sufficiently large for the prospective 
community, but the nest itself is gradually extended in 
size suitable to their progressive increase in numbers. 
All that the parent female does at first is to form a 
