HIVE-BEES. 83 



attend them at tlie door of the hive, ease them of their load 

 at their arrival, brush Iheir feet, and shake out the two 

 balls of wax ; upon which the others return to the fields to 

 gather new treasure, while those who disburthened them 

 convey their charge to the magazine. But some bees, 

 again, when they have brought their load home, cany it 

 themselves to the lodge, and there deliver it, laying hold of 

 one end by their hinder feet, and with their middle feet 

 sliding it out of the cavity that contamed it ; but this is 

 evidently a work of supererogation which they are not 

 obliged to perform. The packets of wax continue a few 

 moments in the lodge, till a set of officers come, who are 

 charged w^tli a third commission, which is to knead this 

 wax with their feet, and spread it out into diiferent sheets, 

 laid one above another. This is the unwrought wax, which 

 is easily distinguished to be the produce of different flowers, 

 by the variety of colours that appear on each sheet. When 

 they afterwards come to work, they knead it over again ; 

 they purify and whiten, and then reduce it to a uniform 

 colour. They use this wax with a wonderful frugality ; for 

 it is easy to observe that the whole family is conducted by 

 prudence, and all their actions regulated by good govern- 

 ment. Everything is granted to necessity, but nothing to 

 superfluity ; not the least grain of wax is neglected, and if 

 they waste it, they are frequently obliged to provide more ; 

 at those very times when they want to get their provision 

 of honey, they take off the wax that closed the cells, and 

 carry it to the magazine."* 



Reaumur hesitated in believing that this was a correct 

 view of the subject, from observing the great diflerence 

 between wax and pollen ; but he was inclined to think the 

 pollen might be swallowed, partially digested, and disgorged 

 in the form of a kind of paste. Schirach also mentions, that 

 it was remarked by a certain Lusatian, that wax comes from 

 the rings of the body, because, on withdrawing a bee while 

 it is at work, and extending its body, the wax may be seen 

 there in the form of scales. 



The celebrated John Hunter shrewdly remarked that the 

 * De la Pluche, Spectacle de la Natm-e, vol. i. 



