HIVE-BEES. 



89 



that they had access to nothing beside honey, and five 

 times successively removed the combs with the precaution 

 of preventing the escape of the bees from the apartment. 

 On each occasion they produced neWcombs, which puts it 

 beyond dispute that honey is sufficient to effect the secre- 

 tion of wax without the aid of pollen. Instead of supply- 

 ing the bees with hone}^, they were subsequently fed, 

 exclusively, on pollen and fruit; but though they were 

 kept in captivity for 'eight days under a bell-glass, with a 

 comb containing nothing but farina, they neither made 

 wax nor was any secreted under the rings. In another 

 series of experiments, in which bees were fed with different 

 sorts of sugar, it was found that nearly one-sixth of the 

 sugar was converted into wax, dark-coloured sugar yielding 

 more than double the quantity of refined sugar. 



It may not be out of place to subjoin the few anatomical 

 and physiological facts which have been ascertained by 

 Huber, Madlle. Jurine, and Latreille. 



The first stomach of the worker-bee, according to 



Worker-boe, magnified— showing tlie position of the scales of Wax. 



Latreille,* is appropriated to the reception of honey, but 

 this is never found in the second stomach, which is sur- 

 rounded with muscular rings, and from one end to the 

 other very much resembles a cask covered with hoops. It 

 is within these rings that the wax is produced ; but the 

 * Latreille, Mc'm. Acad, des Sciences, 1821. 



