The Life of the Bee 



placed on a pyramidal base ; and two 

 layers of these tubes form the comb, their 

 bases being opposed to each other in such 

 fashion that each of the three rhombs or 

 lozenges which on one side constitute the 

 pyramidal base of one cell, composes at 

 the same time the pyramidal base of three 

 cells on the other. It is in these pris- 

 matic tubes that the honey is stored ; and 

 to prevent its escaping during the period 

 of maturation, — which would infallibly 

 happen if the tubes were as strictly hori- 

 zontal as they appear to be, — the bees 

 incline them slightly, to an angle of 



4' or 5°- 



" Besides the economy of wax," says 

 Reaumur, when considering this marvellous 

 construction in its entirety, " besides the 

 economy of wax that results from the dis- 

 position of the cells, and the fact that this 

 arrangement allows the bees to fill the 

 comb without leaving a single spot vacant, 

 190 



