HIVP>13EES. 81 



with nothing but what is required for present wants. Wax- 

 workers appear with large bellies at the entrance of their 

 hive, only when the country affords a copious collection of 

 honey. From this it may be concluded that the production 

 of the waxy matter depends on a concurrence of circum- 

 stances not invariably' subsisting. Nurse-bees also produce 

 wax, but in a very inferior quantity to what is elaborated 

 by the real wax-workers. Another characteiistic whereby 

 an attentive observer can determine the moment of bees 

 collecting sufficient honey to produce wax, is the strong 

 odour of both these substances from the hive, which is not 

 equally intense at any other time. From such data, it was 

 easy for M. Huber to discover whether the bees worked in 

 wax in his own hives, and in those of the other cultivators 

 of the district. 



There is still another sort of bees, first observed by 

 Huber in 1809, which appear to be only casual inmates of 

 the hive, and which are driven forth to starve, or are killed 

 in conflict. They closely resemble the ordinary workers, 

 but are less hairy, and of a much darker colour. These 

 have been' called hlack bees, and are supposed by Huber 

 to be defective bees;* but Kirby and Spence conjecture 

 that they are toil-worn superannuated workers, of no 

 further use, and are therefore sacrificed, because burden- 

 some to a community which tolerates no unnecessary 

 inmates. The very great number of black bees, however, 

 which sometimes appear, does not well accord with such 

 an opinion. The subject remains, therefore, still in uncer- 

 tainty. 



Preparation of Wax. 



In order to build the beautiful combs, which every one 

 must have repeatedly seen and admired, it is indispensable 

 that the architect-bees should be provided with the materials 

 — with the wax, in short, of which they are principally 

 formed. Before we follow them, therefore, to the operation 

 of building, it maybe necessary to inquire how the wax itself 

 is procured. Here the discoveries of recent inquirers have 



* Huber on Bees, p. 338. 



