260 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



pounds of honey to produce one pound 

 of wax, but more recent investigators 

 are inclined to lower the estimate, al- 

 though some investigators still call for 

 fifteen pounds. The secretion from 

 these wax glands is in liquid form that 



withdrawn from between the abdomi- 

 nal plates. Some observers asserted 

 that they are scattered on the bottom 

 of the hive, and collected by other bees 

 as they might collect material outside 

 of the hive. Other observers taught 

 that the wax is passed from a wax pro- 

 ducing bee to another bee that then 

 molds it with her mandibles. About 

 two years ago the Bureau of Entomo- 

 logy, Washington, D. C, published a 

 remarkable circular to record the origi- 

 nal investigations of Dr. D. B. Casteel, 



IV/JX 



Fig. 1. Ventral abdominal plates of a worker bee 

 dissected to show the position of the wax plates. 



by the action of the atmosphere soon 

 hardens. The wax is then extremely 

 brittle, and not adapted directly to the 

 making of comb. It must be thorough- 

 ly worked over by the honeybee's man- 

 dibles. 



Until about two years ago it was not 

 known exactlv how these scales are 



Fig. 3. Side view of a worker in the same posture 

 as that shown in figure 2. 



entitled "The Manipulation of the Wax 

 Scales of The Honey Bee." 



The workers never assist one another 

 in the process of removal. The scales 

 are extracted by the bee that secretes 

 them, and by this bee they are usually 



MillAi 



Fig. 2. Ventral view of a worker bee in the act of 

 removing a wax scale. The two middle legs and the 

 right hind leg are used for support, while the left 

 hind leg removes the scale. 



Fig. 4. Ventral view of a worker bee showing the 

 position of the wax scale just before it is grasped by 

 the forelegs and mandibles. The scale is still adhering 

 to the spines of the pollen combs The bee is sup- 

 ported upon the two middle legs and upon the hind 

 leg which is not removing the scale. 



