HIVE-BEES. 



103 



naturalists. Huber, however, plausibly enough conjec- 

 tures that they are contained in the ineternal lining of 

 the wax pockets, which consists of a cellular substance 

 reticulated with hexagons. The wax pockets them- 

 selves, which are concealed by the over-lapping of the 

 rings, may be seen by pressing the abdomen of a 

 worker-bee so as to lengthen it, and separate the rings 

 further from each other. When this has been done, 

 there may be seen on each of the four intermediate 

 hoops of the belly, and separated by what may be 

 called the keel (carina), two whitish-coloured 

 pouches, of a soft texture, and in the form of a 

 trapezium. Within, the little scales or plates of wax 



fforker-bee, magnified— -shoxoin^ the position of the scales of Wax* 



are produced from time to time, and are removed and 

 employed as we shall presently see. We may remark 

 that it is chiefly the wax-workers which produce the 

 wax, for though the nurse-bees are furnished with 

 wax pockets, they secrete it only in very small quan- 

 tities, while in the queen bee, and the males or drones, 

 no pockets are discoverable. 



