Merican Hee Journal 



be compared to the building of a wall, 

 or rather of a turret, in which each 

 parcel of wax corresponds to the stone 

 used by the mason. The comb is bia'li, 

 in the full sense of the word. 



As for the comb erected out of foun- 

 dation, it will be otherwise. It would, 

 however, be proper for the bee simply 

 to add to the rudiments of cells pro- 

 vided by man, with new deposits, but 

 she will not do it, evidently thinking 

 that it is possible for her to take better 

 advantage of the raw material which is 

 there in excess. Setting aside her 

 habitual manner, she will have recourse 

 to the process which we have formerly 

 seen her employ, she will work in " the 

 lump." (However, if the starter has 

 been furnished too late, and the crop is 

 on, and of short duration, the wax- 

 sheet may be loaded with new wax 

 which the bees then produce in large 

 amount, and thanks to which the build- 

 ing will be the sooner completed.) 



By dint of labor she will succeed in 

 digging out and thinning the bottom 

 and the coarse structure in such a way 

 that the cell will soon emerge from the 

 sheet, will become elongated, and will 

 finally reach its full size without the 

 need of additional wax, provided the 

 sheet has been of sufficient thickness. 



It is then said that the foundation has 

 been "stretched out" — a perhaps im- 

 proper expression, but which gives an 

 idea of the manner in which the work 

 has been accomplished. 



We ascertain thus, that not only the 

 insect is able to discern the necessity 

 of a different method of work, but also 

 that it is able to obtain, by a process 

 employed incidentally, a final result as 

 perfect as, if not more perfect than, 

 that reached by natural constructions. 



We believe that we can not better 

 give an idea of the difference between 

 the foundation sheet just made, and 

 that which has been shaped by the 

 bees, thaii by reproducing two photo- 

 graphs of these sheets, taken in cross- 

 section and made of equal size to facili- 

 tate comparison. 



In Fig. 1 the sheet is exhibited such 

 as it is used to place in the frame. In 

 Fig. 2 we see a similar sheet in process 

 of construction — on one side the thick 

 artificial foundation, on the other the 

 work of real fineness. This remarkable 

 transformation has been accomplished 

 within a few hours, almost under our 

 eyes, but we are in the dark on many 

 points as to the manner in which the 

 bee proceeds with this fairy-like work. 



Concerning the naturally-built comb, 

 the observation hive has permitted our 

 Masters to describe minutely, in spite 

 of great difficulties, this marvelous 

 work, in masterly pages not to be for- 

 gotten. Here, this direct observation 

 could furnish but incomplete informa- 

 tion, for the task of the worker is no 

 longer accomplished on the rudiments 

 of the cell, in a visible way, but at the 

 bottom. To follow the characteristic 

 motions of the wax-worker in these 

 conditions, when her thorax is buried 

 within the rudiment of wall of the cell, 

 at a time when the entire frame is cov- 

 ered with the working throng, is prac- 

 tically impossible; barely can we see 

 some changes permitting us to suppose, 

 without really ascertaining the condi- 

 tions. 



We have thought that, since it is so 



impracticable to be informed by the 

 action of the bees, perhaps it would be 

 possible to follow the advancement of 

 the comb from the comb itself. The 



Fig. I. —Cross-section of a sheet of founda 



tion— natural size. 

 Fig. 2.— Cross-section of a sheet of founda- 

 tion in process of construction — 

 natural size. 



labor of erecting the cells is never ac- 

 complished simultaneously; some cells 

 near the center will be very nearly 

 finished while others about the edges 

 will be but begun. The different phases 

 of progress are therefore registered in 

 the comb itself. 



On the other side, wax being an 

 eminently plastic substance, and there- 

 fore retaining the most delicate im- 



KiG. 3.— The lump at the outer edge of th c 

 cell, first stase— lonnitudinal section 

 enlarged 3S diameters. 



prints, will it not be logical to suppose 

 that the cell must retain the evidence 

 of the "tools" — if we may thus call 

 them — which have served to do the 



work ? We may therefore believe that 

 a deeper examination will permit us to 

 determine with comparative exactness 

 some interesting particularities of the 

 process of the cell. 



Fig. 2 will enable us to follow easily, 

 in a general way, the sheet in its differ- 

 ent conditions. This section of a comb 

 built on colored wax will give us a 

 neater cut, brought out better, on the 

 plastic background which envelops it, 

 than could be done with the lightest 

 kind of wax ; in addition, it will permit 

 us to eliminate all cause of error 

 brought by accretions, which would at 

 once be indicated by a change of shade. 



At its inferior extremity, in a. Fig. 2 

 (see May American Bee Journal), the 

 sheet is not even shaped out, however 

 the base of the corresponding cell b 

 has already been subjected to a com- 

 mencement of work, for the excess of 

 beeswax has been pushed out upon the 

 rudiment c, giving the latter an appre- 

 ciable enlargement. If we try to ascer- 

 tain how this change has been effected, 

 we will only need to glance at d to be- 

 come informed. The first half of the 

 bottom of that cell is already finished, 

 while the other half the wax has been 

 pushed over progressively, starting 

 from the center, the thinnest spot, 

 going towards the rudiment which it 

 covers. Little by little the midrib of 

 the bottom will be brought to proper 

 thickness, and the bulk of the wax, 

 which appears in shape of wedge at d, 

 will constitute the rudiment of the cell 

 as we see it in c. The latter, very thick, 

 as you may readily perceive, presents a 

 projection of about a millimeter and a 

 half, and its section is limited by per- 

 ceptibly parallel edges. 



.-^t e and e, the projection shows bet- 

 ter, and the appearance is again modi- 

 fied. Under labor similar to that already 

 witnessed for the bases, the sides will 

 also be thinned out, and the wax, 

 pushed on in the direction of the outer 

 edge of the cell, will there form a sort 

 of swelling. The section of the rudi- 

 ment will no longer have parallel edges, 

 but will assume the shape of a small 

 mushroom. 



Upon the following cells f and f, one 

 perceives the edges taken down to their 

 normal thickness, while the little lump 

 of wax still retains its triangular shape 

 at g. 



The bee, therefore, does not bring 

 about the progress of the shaping of 

 the cell by successive removals of wax 

 from the sides, but constantly pushes 

 back towards the edge all the unneces- 

 sary wax, retaining only the quantity 

 necessary to insure strength of con- 

 struction. The worker acts in such a 

 manner that she does not need to re- 

 turn to the work already performed. 

 We have often ascertained, also, that 

 the queen, if short of room, will not 

 hesitate to lay eggs in the rudimentary 

 cells, for she has the certainty that the 

 wax-workers will finish promptly their 

 task without meddling with the larvic. 



As the cell enlarges, the lumps of 

 wax diminish in size; in h, the triangu- 

 lar form lengthens out, to become 

 ovoid in i, and if any of the cells are 

 finished, we will see only a trace of en- 

 largement at their extremity. 



Fig. 3 represents one of the lumps at 

 the time when the cell is shaped as in 



