Chambers's encyclopædia; a dictionary of universal knowledge . or Hummer Bee, andto refer to the loud hum produced by the ^\•ings ofthese insects. Hmuble-bees do not form communities so largeas those of honey-bees ; seldom more than two orthree hundred occupying one nest, aiad in somesj)ecies not more than fifty or sixty. The femalesare much less prolific than those of community is dissolved on the approach ofwinter, the males and workers die, and only femalesremain in a torpid state—among moss, in rottenwood, or in some other situation where they mayenjoy protection from frost,
Chambers's encyclopædia; a dictionary of universal knowledge . or Hummer Bee, andto refer to the loud hum produced by the ^\•ings ofthese insects. Hmuble-bees do not form communities so largeas those of honey-bees ; seldom more than two orthree hundred occupying one nest, aiad in somesj)ecies not more than fifty or sixty. The femalesare much less prolific than those of community is dissolved on the approach ofwinter, the males and workers die, and only femalesremain in a torpid state—among moss, in rottenwood, or in some other situation where they mayenjoy protection from frost, and concealment fromenemies—to peij^ietuate the race by foiinding newcommunities in the ensuing spring. The nests ofsome species, as B. terrestris, are in holes in thegiound, at the depth of a foot or more, floored withleaves, and lined with wax, and often entered bya winding passage. Others, as B. lapidarius, maketheir waxen nests among stones ; wliile others still,as B. muscorum, make them among moss, whichthey mix and join with vrax. The nests are. Huuible-Eees and Xcst :1, humble bee and nest; 2, orange-tailed bee ; 3, moss bee. enlarged as the community increases. Some of theeggs are deposited in balls of mingled pollen andhoney,, on which the larvoe feed, one baU larvce ; afterwards, eggs are also depositedin waxen cells. Workers are chiefly produced inthe earlier part of the season, males and perfectfemales in the latter part of it. The females arelarger than the males and workers. Humble-beesdiffer from honey-bees in their females existingtogether in the same conmiunity without seekingto destroy one another. There is among themnothing analogous to swarming. Their combs donot exhibit the beautiful regularity of structurewhich characterises those of honey-bees; but cellsof a comparatively coarse appearance are clusteredtogether, with silken cocoons of pupte, balls of454 the kind already noticed, and open cells or potsfilled with honey, the frequ
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1860, bookpublisherlondo, bookyear1868
