46 
INSECTS. 
some hole in the ground which it excavates for the purpose. The hive-bees, on 
the contrary, swarm, that is, they send off a full-grown population under a queen 
ready to enter upon the organised life of an industrial community at once. The 
different forms of humble-bees are much the same as those of the hive-bees, 
namely, large females; workers or undeveloped females; small females which are 
similar to the large (or queens) in structure; and males. One very strange habit 
has been recorded and confirmed by subsequent observations. A small female is 
set apart for the duty of awakening the nest every morning with her piercing 
note, and has been called the “ trumpeter.” It seems that only those nests which 
are large and have plenty of spare hands can afford this luxury. 
Humble-bees, both as regards appearance and habits, are too well known to 
need description. Of the two species figured in the annexed illustration, the 
common humble-bee (Bombus terrestris ) forms small rounded nests of carded 
moss. On the other hand, the stone humble-bee (B. lapidarius ) makes its 
habitation in cavities among stones, where it forms an oval nest, of which only 
the sides are covered with moss and grass. 
F. 0. PICKARD-CAMBRIDGE. 
[Note.— The first ten pages of this chapter are by Mr. Pocock.] 
