The Life of the Bee 



toon, so that the necessary heat might be 

 maintained, other bees descended into the 

 hole and proceeded solidly to attach the 

 metal, and connect it with the walls of ad- 

 jacent cells, by means of little waxen hooks 

 which they distributed regularly over its 

 surface. In the upper semicircle of the 

 disc they then began to construct three 

 or four cells, uniting these to the hooks. 

 Each of these transition, or accommo- 

 dation, cells was more or less deformed 

 at the top, to allow of its being soldered 

 to the adjoining cell on the comb ; but 

 its lower portion already designed on the 

 tin three very clear angles, whence there 

 ran three little straight lines that correctly 

 indicated the first half of the following 

 cell. 



After forty-eight hours, and notwi-th- 

 standing the fact that only three bees at 

 a time were able to work in the cavity, 

 the entire surface of the tin was covered 



202 



