322 NATURE’S CRAFTSMEN 
they had concocted. The babies accepted it ea¬ 
gerly. Whether both the males and the females 
were fed with the same mixture could not be de¬ 
cided ; however, it is very probable that they were 
not; for in the insect world, you know, the kind 
and quality of the food has now come to be re¬ 
garded as the leading factor in determining the 
kind of individual that will be reared. 
“ As winter approaches, the new queens that 
come to maturity leave the nest and seek a mate. 
After which, the queens crawl away into some 
snug place for the winter, as I have said. In¬ 
stinct tells them that it would not be safe to go 
to sleep in their nests on the ground; these have 
long been charted by all the mice in the vicinity. 
As soon as Jack Frost numbs the valiant little 
defenders, there will be a grand raid, and bum¬ 
blebees, babies, eggs, honey and all will disap¬ 
pear down the greedy little red throats. 
“ One thing which the naturalists are eager to 
learn about is the number and kind of parasites 
and guest bees which are harbored in bumblebee 
colonies. If you folks keep your eyes open you 
may have something worth while to relate. 
There is one guest bee in particular which looks 
so much like its hosts that it will require careful 
observation to spot it. These bees are so lazy 
that the industrious bumblebees object strenu¬ 
ously to receiving them, but some innate sense of 
