1 



154 



BEE 



elres in festoons from tho tup f Hit- liivo. Thnc 

 first reach the top fix them-chc- \>\ tin- claws ..f il 

 len to the roof, nnd arc Mlowrd l.y others which 

 themselves to them, until on inverted r,m or httoofl of 

 bees is formed, each end of which U attnchi-.l to the roof of 

 the hive. Hcfore the commenccmont of the new comb, the 

 interior of n hive preenU a ene< uf P-.to.ins of this de- 

 scription, intersecting each other in all directions, the bees 

 tvin:iiniii'_' i" i>erfi'et repose. 



At thin time the wax is secreted ami makes 

 once in little scales which exude between 

 the under side of tho alxlomcn, eight scales being visible in 

 each bee. Tho wax being secreted, one of the bees com- 

 mences the comb; haung detached itself from the 1 

 it makes its way to the roof of tho hive, and lifter clearing u 

 pace by driving away the other bees, it detaches one of the 

 scales from the abdomen by means of its hinder legs : this 

 j then conveyed by the fore-legs to the mouth, where 

 it is masticated, and impregnated with u frothy liquid by 

 tho tonsue, in which process il obtains a whiteness and 

 opacity which it did not before possess. The pan 

 wax are then applied to the roof of the hive. Another 

 scale undergoes the same process, and is attached to the 

 first. The bee thus continues labouring until all its scales 

 are disposed of; it then quits its situation and is followed by 

 another bee, which proceeds with its scales in the work 

 already begun, depositing the wax in a straight line with 

 the former deposition. The same operation is performed 

 hy many other bees, until a considerable block is deposited. 

 This block is generally about five or six lines* long, the 

 height two lines, and the thickness half a line ; and it is 

 upon this that the formation of the cells commences. 



We have seen that the foundation of the block is the 

 work of one bee, so likewise is the commencement of the 

 cells ; the former is the work of what is called the wax- 

 workers, which, we are informed by Huber, do not possess 

 the power of sculpturing the cells : the cells are made by 

 the sculpturer-bees, who are smaller than the wax-workers. 

 No sooner is the block large enough to admit a sculpturer-be* 

 between the wax-workers, than the excavation commences. 

 There teems to be an instinctive desire to perform tho work 

 of excavation wherever there is room, even though there 

 nwy not be sufficient to forrfl a perfect cell : for we never 

 observe a solid piece of wax in any part of a comb. On the 

 contrary, if by any accident there has Ix-en space anocctipied 

 by cells, we find that the wax has heen excavated at that 

 pert as much as was practicable. 



The bee, impelled by instinct to deposit wax nnd to exca- 

 vate, and also goidM by an acute sense of feeling in the 

 antenna; (probably through the elasticity of the wax), as to 

 the degree to which the excavation should proceed, forms 

 the comb : and in so doing it seems to act, not from choice, 

 but from a necessity imposed upon it by two antagonist 

 principles, one causing it to deposit and excavate wax, and 

 the other acting through the antenna-, and limiting the 

 decree of excavation. 



It is to this desire for performing the work of excavation 

 that we attribute the small excavations aliout the royal 

 cells, which are said to be for the purpose of facilitating the 

 exit of the young queen. If the wax were removed for that 

 purpose, we do not see why the operation should not be 

 confined to that part througl'i which she makes her escape. 

 On the other hand, if from the wax of the royal cells being 

 thicker than it is in other parts of the comb, the workers 

 are induced to muke excavations, and desist only upon the. 

 thickness being reduced to that of the ordinary partitions, 

 it follows that it will at last become uniformly thin, as de- 

 '1 by Huber: the reason here -iveii dilferini: from 

 Iluber's, but we think more in accordance with the halnts 

 and economy of the animal. 



In forming the cells, a hollow is flrad excavated on nne 

 ide of the wax block ; this excavation is rather Irs; tlnui 

 the width of a cell, nnd is immediately followed In two of a 

 similar description on the opposite side of the block. The 

 particles of wax removed in excavation are knca>!c>l 

 jaws of the bee and dep ited mi the edges of the intended 

 celU; the iwo latter excavations (li. /i. fif. i:t) ai, 

 Murtly on each side of tho first (a, fig. 13), tli.- 

 it. In placing the two last-mentioned cells, the bees avoid 

 tle opposite part on account .it" Hie thinness of the wax, and 

 the size of the waxJdock will not admit of their being re- 

 i from the first. 



A line U the twelfth of in Inch. 



B-M1. 



' 



Front. Sid'. 



Tli* front, tiilr, and tnck rlewi of thr lilock on which Ow 6 nt 

 UM oU art nude. 



7 U 



Tig. 12, Front view magnified. Fig. 13, Tranfverw c<-tion through th 



The above arc representations of tlic block and it- exca- 

 vations at this period. Supposing the parts at which the 

 circles nearly come in contact with each other to be of the 

 thickness proper for the partitions of the cells, the parts 

 marked a in the front view and section (Jigt. 12 and 13) 

 being more than the necessary thickness, tue bees will (ac- 

 cording to the instinctive principles before mcnli 

 naturally remove what is there superfluous, thus forming 

 an angle, determined by two intersecting vertical planes, 

 at the bottom of the cell : inasmuch as at the same tune 

 the parts marked l>, in the back view and section (flgs. 11 

 and 1 a.), will also be removed. The partition between 

 two last-mentioned cells thus become* perpendicular and 

 of equal thickness, and is exactly opposed to the angle at 

 the bottom of the first cell. 



By this time the r, : reti"ii of wax has taken 



place in all the bees rompo-intr the le-tooiis, and they 

 are all anxious to disp.i-o of their - 



sculpturer-bees are also active, consequently more wax is 

 added to the margins of the original block, and more 

 vations are funned. Supposing the block to have inci 

 to double its original length and width, there would then be 

 room for parts of four more excavations, on the side on 

 which the first was made, thus : 



Fig. 14. 



the same operation of redueim; the wax in the thick , 

 marked r. having taken place, the --ides < f the first cell 

 also beciiine straight and perpendicular, and by reducing 

 the wax at the ; the proper thickness in all the. 



cells, the liottom of the first cell, and upper part* uf the two 

 cells beneath, in the diagram, become, two-sided. The work- 

 on the opposite side of the comb being in the same slate of 

 forwardness, ( for after the commencement it proceeds equally 

 at all parts), will appear thus 



/'/!'. 1.1. 



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