UQ 



ON" BEES WAX, 



Wax«maklng 

 bees. 



Nurfing bees. 



Operations of 

 the bees during 

 an intemperate 

 fpring. 



I may perhaps be aiked howl was fatisfied of this, to which 

 I anfvver, bees-wax is white at firft, the cells foon become yel- 

 low, and in time, this colour grows browner, and in older 

 hives the combs have acquired a blackifti tinge. It is there* 

 fore very eafy to diftinguifh the new cells from thofe which 

 have been fome time formed, and confequently to know whe* 

 ther the bees are really making combs, or whether that work is 

 fufpended; it is fufficient to raife the hives, and to notice the 

 lower edges of the combs. 



The odour exhaled by the hives, and the ftiape of the bees, 

 are indications by which it may always be known whether there 

 is honey in the flowers; if they are combined, there can be 

 110 further doubt, and, particularly, if a great number of bees 

 return to the hive, which are remarkable for the bulk and the 

 form of« their bellies. Thofe which are filled with honey have 

 the abdomen cylindrical ; the name of wax-making bees be- 

 longs to them exclufively: the bellies of the labouring bees 

 which have other functions, always preferve their ovoid form, 

 and their volume is never fenfibly augmented; the name of 

 nurfing bees is proper for thefe. 



The farmers of the neighbouring villages kept their bees in 

 balkets, or in cafes of difterent forms; and I was able to vifit 

 a very great number without going to any great diftance from 

 my habitation. 



In 1793, an intemperate fpring had retarded the feparatlon 

 of the fwarms; there had not been any in the country before 

 the 2 Uh of May ; but towards the middle of June there were 

 feveral in the vicinity of my reiidence. At that time the fields 

 were covered with flowers, the bees collected much honey, and 

 the new fwarms worked at the wax with vigour. 



Oh the I8th, Burnens vifited fixty-five hives; at the en- 

 trances of all of them he obferved waxrmaking bees. Thofe 

 which returned to old hives, not baring to conflru6l cells, de- 

 pofited their honey in the combs, or diftributed it among their 

 companions; thofe belonging to the fwarms converted their 

 honey into wax, and haftened to conflru6l combs for the re- 

 ception of their young bees. 



It was (liowery on the 19th: the bees went abroad but 

 brought home only pollen. The weather was cold and rainy 

 until the 27th. We were defirous of knowing if this had pre- 

 vented their working. On the 28lb, all the hives were lifted: 



burnens 



