HIVE-BEES. Ill 



is composed of a smooth, shining, horn-Uke sub- 

 stance, hollowed out in the substance of the limb, 

 and surrounded with a margin of strong and thickly- 

 set bristles. Whatever materials, therefore, may be 

 placed by the bee in the interior of this basket, are 

 secured from failing out by the bristles around it, 

 whose elasticity will even allov/ the load to be heaped 

 beyond their points without letting it fall. 



In the case of propolis, when the bee is loading 

 her singular basket, she first kneads the piece she 

 has detached Vvith her mandibles, till it becomes 

 somewhat dry and less adhesive, as otherwise it would 

 stick to her limbs. This preliminary process some- 

 times occupies nearly half an hour. She then passes 

 it backwards by means of her feet to the cavity of her 

 basket, giving it two or three pats to make it adhere; 

 and when she adds a second portion to the first, she 

 often finds it necessary to pat it still harder. When 

 she has procured as much as the basket will conve- 

 niently hold, she flies ofi* with it to the hive. 



The Building of the Cells. 



The notion commonly entertained respecting glass 

 hives is altogether erroneous. Those who are un- 

 acquainted with bees imagine, that, by means of a 

 glass hive, all their proceedings may be easily watched 

 and recorded; but it is to be remembered that bees 

 are exceedingly averse to the intrusion of light, and 

 their first operation in such cases is to close up every 

 chink by which light can enter to disturb them, 

 either by clustering together, or by a plaster com- 

 posed of propohs. It consequently requires con- 

 siderable management and ingenuity, even with the 

 aid of a glass hive, to see them actually at work. 

 M. Huber employed a hive with leaves, which opened 

 in the manner of a book; and for some purposes he 



