SOLITARY AND SOCIAL BEES 



Old World as well as in America, has many more species, 

 and varies from a similar size down to some minute bees no 

 larger than house-flies. 



Unlike the humble bees, the workers produce wax only 

 from the upper side of the abdomen. Some early workers 

 thought that the males also secreted it, but this has not been 

 observed by any modern naturalist. Besides their own wax, 

 they also collect plant waxes and juices and earth, and these 

 substances are often mixed with the wax for some purposes. 

 The most usual site for a nest is a hollow tree, but some 

 species nest in the open, in the forking of two branches, or 

 in crevices of stonework, or in holes in the ground. A few 

 build in deserted ant-mounds or in holes in large termite- 

 nests. Within such a large group some variety of habit is 

 to be expected, but even within one species more than one 

 type of site may be used. Most of the species construct a 

 spout-like structure at the entrance. This may project for 

 several inches from the hole leading into a hollow tree. It 

 is sometimes closed at night by a temporary wax membrane. 

 In a typical nest, the hollow branch is walled up at each end 

 by a barrier of wax, mixed with earth. The cavity so formed 

 is divided into two, one part for the brood, the other for a 

 store of honey and pollen. The part containing the brood is 

 surrounded by a number of irregular waxen envelopes which 

 doubtless serve, as in the common wasp, to conserve heat. 

 The brood is reared in waxen cells arranged in one of three 

 ways. The commonest is to have a series of horizontal 

 combs, one above the other. The lowest comb is built first, 

 the later ones being supported one above the other on little 

 pillars. The cells all open upwards, being constructed on 

 the upper side of each comb. Occasional cells are missing 

 so that there are gaps in the comb, allowing for the passage 

 of the bees and perhaps for ventilation. In large colonies, 



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