at times when winged insects were not on the move, and the exclusion thereby of such as would not aid in the work of fructification. "It is not too much to say," as Sir John elsewhere expresses himself ("British Wild Flowers in Relation to Insects "), "that if on the one hand flowers are in many cases necessary to insects, insects on the other hand are still more necessary to the very existence of flowers; that if insects have been in many cases modified and adapted with a view to obtain honey and pollen from flowers, flowers in their turn owe their scent and colour, their honey, and even their distinctive forms, to the action of insects." "And plains sad Chloris how these spoilers steal From her ripe crests the vivifying meal, Pare the thin films that shield her anthered reign, And all her nectared cells insatiate drain? No! kind intruders; all reserved for you She pours through honeyed horn her luscious dew, While, grateful for the rich repast, ye shed Fresh showers prolific round her genial bed." Evans. § VIII. EGGS AND TRANSFORMATIONS. It is necessary that some explanation should be given, as to the existence of the bee before it emerges from the cell. The eggs (Plate II. Fig. 7) of all the three kinds of bees, when first deposited, are of an oval shape, slightly curved, and of a bluish-white colour. They are glutinous on the surface when laid, which causes them to adhere to the bases of the cells where the queen deposits them. In three or four days the egg changes to a small white worm, and in this stage is known by the names of larva or grub (Plate II. Fig. 8), in which state it remains four to six days more--a drone six and a half; its dimensions enlarge during this period till it appears as a ring at the base of the cell. While in this stage it is fed by the nurse bees with a mixture of farina and honey, a transparent white fluid in which the larva floats, and the supply of which is so exactly apportioned that not a drop remains on its ceasing to be required.