8 



disproved by the above statement, of the solitary queen 

 wasp, but may I not add ironically, why not prove the 

 body of the bee itself a hexagon ? Thus six of the bees 

 pressing against the six sides of the cell, with one jolly bee 

 in a centre cell, would just form the hexagon (from the 

 ductile nature of the wax), although the centre cell 

 bee would come out of pressure like a " brick." 

 Another condition, essential for this circular system, was 

 " the bee or wasp, when the builder must insert its head to 

 form the hexagonal cell." The head of the wasp placed 

 over one of the smaller worker cells, proves to you that 

 could not be done in many cases, and especially in these cells. 

 And lastly, the width of the planes of the hexagon were 

 thus explained : a worker bee was supposed to place itself 

 exactly opposite the centre of one of the planes, and then 

 fixing itself steadily in the proper position, the width of the 

 plane would be the exact distance that the bee cut, or reached 

 with its mandibles when turning its head as upon a pivot. 

 The uniformity of the size of the bees themselves also 

 would appear to add to the completeness of the theory. 

 But, alas ! it soon occurs to any casual observer, that the 

 same bees afterwards construct the larger cells of the drones, 

 and the transition cells in the combs. To prove isolated 

 hexagonal cells are built, if you examine the nest of Icaria 

 guUatipennis, and also that of Polistes Tasmaiiioisis, j'ou 

 will find many examples. Vespa Norvegica I have myself 

 the recollection of seeing in the museum at Bergen as an 

 example of building detached hexagonal cells ; showing the 

 hexasronal form does not necessitate the infringement of six 

 adjoining cells for its production, a position that had been 

 laid down as being absolutely necessary by the circular the- 

 orists, and which Mr. Smith has, by the examples I have 

 quoted from him, I think completely refuted. The 

 one other curious fact with regard to the honey- 

 bee, is that the workers avail themselves of the 

 compressed wax foundations, which are stamped rhom- 

 boids, to raise the hexagons upon for complete cells. 

 A word as to the closing of the nymph bee to allow it to 

 spin its cocoon, when it has no further occasion for 



