Humble Bees.
The humble bee came buzzing out of the hedge in front of my face and presently another of the same kind appeared too, and I concluded that there was a nest in the bank, although I did not bother to prod and poke to find out. Only the colonies of honey bees survive the winter as a unit and even they renew their working population every four or five weeks in the summer; but nearly all the humble bees, like the drones of the honey bee, meet a cold death when autumn comes, for only a few queens survive. On these queens depends the establishment of new broods in banks or holes in the ground. Once, when I was a small boy, I went to dig out a colony of humble bees, knowing no better. I found the brood after excavating with great determination and discovered to my dismay that the humble bee does not store for the winter and there is no honey comb to be had. The hibernating queens take their chance against flood and frost and the hunting mouse and emerge to the first warmth of spring with the task of house-hunting before them.
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