6 j2 
THE STUD Y OF INSECTS,. 
bers of the family. Neither is it probable that the bumble¬ 
bees are unable to drive their guests away. Let any one in¬ 
clined to this view disturb a bumblebee’s nest, and he will 
probably have an increased appreciation of their powers of 
defence. These facts have led some naturalists to believe that 
these aristocratic guests perform some important and neces¬ 
sary duties conducive to the general prosperity of the whole 
colony, although as yet we have not the slightest hint as to 
what these duties may be. 
III. THE SOCIAL BEES. 
The social bees are so called because many individuals 
work together to build a common home. Here, as with the 
ants and with the social wasps, we find three forms of in¬ 
dividuals—the males or drones, the females or queens, and 
the workers. The workers are a caste of females that rarely 
lay eggs, but are especially adapted for performing the 
labors of the colony. 
Our native social bees belong to the genus Bonibus , and 
are commonly known as bumblebees. Of these more than 
fifty species have been described from North America. 
We have also an introduced, domesticated species, the 
Honey-bee, which now lives wild in all parts of our country, 
building its nest in hollow trees and in other situations. 
The Bumblebees, Bombus (Bom'bus).—The clumsy rover, 
the bumblebee, is an old friend of us all. As children we 
caught her off thistle-blossoms and imprisoned her in 
emptied milkweed pods, and bade her sing for us. We 
robbed her nest in the hay-field, and tried to believe that 
the strongly-flavored honey, mixed with dirt, was delicious. 
And all our lives the sound of her droning has brought to 
us visions of blue skies, roadsides golden with buttercups, 
and fields purple with clover-blossoms. And she has de¬ 
served all the attention and affection bestowed upon her, 
because she is usually good-natured and companionable. 
She is a happy-go-lucky insect, and takes life as it comes 
