IIIVE-BEES. 115 



leaning against another comb so as to prevent the passage 

 of the bees between them. This accident excited great 

 activity in the colony ; but its natnre conkl not be ascer- 

 tained at the time. At the end of a week, the weather 

 being cold, and the bees clustered together, Mr. Walond 

 observed, through the window of the box, that they had 

 constructed two horizontal pillars betwixt the combs alluded 

 to ; and had removed so much of the honey and wax from 

 the top of each as to allow the passage of a bee : in about 

 ten days more there was an uninterrupted thoroughfare ; the 

 detached comb at its upper part had been secured by a 

 strong barrier, and fastened to the window with the spare 

 wax. This being accomplished, the bees removed the 

 horizontal pillars first constructed, as being of no further 

 use."* 



A similar anecdote is told by M. Huber. " During the 

 winter," says he, " a comb in one of my bell-glass hives, 

 having been originally insecure, fell down, but preserved 

 its position parallel to the rest. The bees -were unable to 

 fill up the vacuity left above it, because they do not build 

 combs of old wax, and none new could be then obtained. 

 At a more favourable season they would have engrafted a 

 new comb on the old one ; but now their provision of honey 

 could not be spared for the elaboration of this substance, 

 which induced them to ensure the stability of the comb by 

 another process. 



" Crowds of bees taking wax from the lower part of 

 other combs, and even gnawing it from the surface of the 

 orifices of the deepest cells, they constructed so many 

 irregular pillars, joists, or buttresses, between the sides 

 of the fallen comb, and others on the glass of the hive. 

 All these were artificially adapted to localities. Neither did 

 they confine themselves to repairing the accidents which 

 their works had sustained. They seemed to profit by the 

 warning to guard against a similar casualty. 



"The remaining combs were not displaced; therefore, 

 while solidly adhering by the base, we were greatly sur- 

 prised to see the bees strengthen their principal fixtures 

 * Bevau on Bees, p. 826. 



