ON BEES WAX, J§^ 



opening them, of gathering their duft, keeping it in the ca- 

 vities of their hind legs, and carrying it to rfieir hives. 



It had been obferved that the particles of this duft fwells in Examination of 

 water, and that, when one of them burfts, an oily liquor runs ^^ pollen of 

 out, which floats on its furface, but did not mix with it ; from 

 thefe experiments, repeated on the duft of a great number of 

 flowers, it was concluded that they contain the principles of 

 wax, but it was admitted that thefe muft undergo a peculiar 

 elaboration in the body of the bee, fince, according to the 

 experiments of Reaumur, a flexible wax could not be made 

 from the duft of the antherae. 



It will be feen from feveral patfages in my work that I had The true origin 



adopted this opinion : a fingle obfervation of Burnens * changed °^ ^'^^ J^: 



^, . . . . - mamed fo long 



all my ideas. The true origin of wax might have been fooner unknown from 



known, had there been any fufpicion that it was not already ?" °P'"/1''^ ^^^\ 



itwasdifcoveredj 

 difcovered. I (hall now ftate how I was led to doubt, and what 



I have done to verify my new conjectures. 



I was in Switzerland in 1793; the farmer of the eftate on Obfervations 

 which I refided had many bees, and the greater part of his^"^^ ^^? ^^ 

 hives having been ftocked in former years, the combs with 

 which they were filled reached to the ftands, confequently 

 there was no room to conftru6l new ones. We remarked, 

 however, that the working bees carried in a confiderable quan- 

 tity of this fecundating powder. 



There was alio in the fame apiary fome fwarms of that 

 year, the hives having only been ftocked a day or two ; in 

 fome of them the combs were only began, in others they were 

 larger, but in all of them there were vacancies to fill up, and 

 much work to do. We obferved with aftonifhment that the 

 bees of thefe fwarjiis did not carry in the pollen, and that, 

 neverthel«fs, they worked with activity in the conftru(5lion of 

 new combs, and in lengthening thofe already commenced.^ 

 Where, therefore, did they procure materials for their edifices? 

 After thefe obfervations, we fufpeded that it was not from the 

 duft of the ftamina, and that they had a very different ufe for 

 it than that for which it was believed to be intended. We - . 



however found that it was not impollible to explain thefe ex- 

 traordinary fads, without abandoning the hypothefis of Reau- 



* The name of M. Huberts fecretary j which deferves to be 

 Kn owi\ to the cultivators of natural hiftory. 



mur. 



