210 ON THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES 



that bees are often hard pressed to get sufficient 

 nectar ; and I am informed by Mr. Tegetmeier that it 

 has been experimentally found that no less than from 

 twelve to fifteen pounds of dry sugar are consumed by 

 a hive of bees for the secretion of each pound of wax ; 

 to that a prodigious quantity of fluid nectar must be 

 collected and consumed by the bees in a hive for the 

 secretion of the wax necessary for the construction of 

 their combs. Moreover, many bees have to remain idle 

 for many days during the process of secretion. A 

 large store of honey is indispensable to support a large 

 stock of bees during the winter ; and the security of 

 the hive is known mainly to depend on a large number 

 of bees being supported. Hence the saving of wax by 

 largely saving honey m ust be a most important element 

 of success in any family of bees. Of course the success 

 of any species of bee may be dependent on the number 

 of its parasites or other enemies, or on quite distinct 

 causes, and so be altogether independent of the 

 quantity of honey which the bees could collect. But 

 let us suppose that this latter circumstance determined, 

 as it probably often does determine, the numbers of a 

 humble-bee which could exist in a country ; and let 

 us further suppose that the community lived through- 

 out the winter, and consequently required a store of 

 honey : there can in this case be no doubt that it would 

 be an advantage to our humble-bee, if a slight modifica- 

 tion of her instinct led her to make her waxen cells 

 near together, so as to intersect a little ; for a wall in 

 common even to two adjoining cells, would save some 

 little wax. Hence it would continually be more and 

 more advantageous to our humble-bee, if she were to 

 make her cells more and more regular, nearer together, 

 and aggregated into a mass, like the cells of the 

 Melipona ; for in this case a large part of the bounding 

 surface of each cell would serve to bound other cells, 

 and much wax would be saved. Again, from the same 

 cause, it would be advantageous to the Melipona, if 

 she were to make her cells closer together, and more 

 regular in every way than at present ; for then, as we 



