THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



25 



The combs are plnced together at some dis- 

 tance from the opening of the hive, and form a 

 group of au oval shape, consisting of five hori- 

 zontal and parallel layers, occupying the par' 

 mostreni< te from the opening; ofani iterrupted 

 and vertical layer applied 10 the side opposed 

 to the opening; and of two principal and two 

 or three smaller vertical layers in the middle. 

 The whole of these are supp rted by wax, 

 spread out into layers or processes of the same 

 material, resting either on the wood of the cav- 

 ity, or on other pa.ts of the fabric of the comb. 

 In these processes and layers of wax are nu- 

 merous openings of various" sizes, at once ad- 

 mitting of ready access for the inhabitants to 

 any part of the hive, and economizing the use 

 of the material of which they are constructed. 

 Some of the openings are of large dimensions. 

 The entrance iuto the hive is continued into a 

 long gallery, which, to judge by the direction 

 taken by the flexible subtance introduced into 

 it, leads beneath the combs to their very ex- 

 tremity. It is therefore probable that at the 

 extremity the work of building is commenced. 



Surrounding the combs are ^ everal layers of 

 wax, as thin as paper, irregular in their form, 

 and placed at s-ome little distance from eich 

 other, the interstices varying from a quarter to 

 h ilf au inch. One of these supports a vertical 

 comb ; the others are connected to the combs 

 only at their edges, or by processes or layers of 

 wax. Externally to these are placed the sacs 

 for containing honey which are generally large 

 and rounded in form. They vary in size, some 

 of them exceeding an iu and-a-half in diame- 

 ter. They are supported r processes of wax 

 from the wood of the cavity, . *'rom each other, 

 and are frequently applied siue by side, so as 

 mutually to afford strength to each other, and to 

 allow of one side serving equally for two sacs. 

 This disposition is altogether irregular, and 

 bears some resemblance to that of a bunch of 

 grapes. Some of the honey sacs are placed 

 apart from the others, forming a distinct cluster 

 of the same general appearance as those imme- 

 diately adjoining the comb. 



From this singular position of the honey-sacs 

 a most important advantage is obtaiued by the 

 cultivators of the Mexican hive bee. To pos- 

 sess themselves of its honey it is unnecessary to 

 have recourse to the means adopted in Europe 

 for stupefying, and even destroying the inhabi- 

 tants of the hive. All that is necessary is to 

 remove the plug from the end of the cavity em- 

 ployed as a hive, to introduce the hand, and 

 withdraw the honey-sacs. The store of the la- 

 borious bee is thus transferred to the propuetor 

 of the hive without injury, and almost without 

 disturbing its inhabitants. The end of the hive 

 is then again stopped up ; and the bees hasten 

 to lay up a fresh supply of honey in lieu of that 

 of which they have been despoiled, again to be 

 robbed of their precious deposit. A hive treated 

 in this way affords during the summer, at least 

 ten harvests. 



The honey is usually pressed from the sacs by 

 the hand, its consistence is thin, but its flavor 

 is good, although inferior to that of the whiter 

 honey furnished by the Spanish bee (probably 

 our common black bee, Apis mellijka, L.). It 



does not readily ferment, some of that contained 

 in the hive being perfect y sweet amd grateful, 

 even alter its arrival in England. 



The w.x is coarse iu quality, its colqr is dark 

 yellowi.-h brown. The whole of it appe rs to 

 be similar iu texture and properties, as well 

 that u ed in the const uction of the cells, as lhat 

 which is applied to the c arser work of form- 

 ing honey-sacs and supports ; the only remark- 

 able difference being, that in the former it is ap- 

 parently paler, probably owing to the layers 

 employed being considerab y tllinner and more 

 delicate. 



Of the varnish-like substance known by the 

 name of propolis, and used by the European 

 bees to cover the foreign substances with which 

 they frequently come in contact, scarcely any 

 vestige is exhibited, although we have evidence 

 of its existence. The wood of the inside of the 

 hive, except where wax is applied to it, is per- 

 fectly naked. 



The hollow of the trunk forming the hive now 

 before us is irregular in its outline, and varies 

 in its breadth on different points. Its average 

 diameter, however, is about rive inches. The 

 length oc upied by the cells is more than seven 

 inches ; and the total length between the ex- 

 tremities of the honey-sacs is fifteen inches. 

 The number of its inhabitants, assuming that of 

 the cells as a guide, must have been considera- 

 bly under a thousand; a number trifling in 

 comparison with that contained in the hives of 

 the European bee, which commonly amounts to 

 as many as twenty-four thousand. 



The bee by which this nest is constructed is 

 smaller than the European hive bee ; its abdo- 

 men, especially, being much shorter than that 

 of our common species. Like all those Mexican 

 bees which approach in their habits to our 

 European race, it is readily distinguished from 

 that, and from ad other hive bees yet discovered 

 in the Old World, by the form of the first joint 

 of its hinder tarsi, which is that of a triangle, 

 with the apex applied to the tibia. On account 

 of this variation in the form of a part so import- 

 tant to the economy of bees, modern entomolo- 

 gists have universally agreed in the propriety 

 of regarding the American races as constituting 

 a distinct group from the bees of the Old World. 

 M. Latreille has gone further by subdividing the 

 American bees into two genera; Melipona, in 

 which the mandibles are not toothed ; and Tri- 

 gona, in which these organs are dentate. Of 

 the propriety of this subdivision, which hith- 

 erto seemed to be supported by the general ap- 

 pearance of the insects refer ed to each groip, 

 the examination of those whose nest has just 

 been described has given rise to considerable 

 doubts. In it one of the mandibles is toothed, 

 and the other is nearly entire. Its technical 

 characters, therefore, are intermediate between 

 tile two genera, with a leaning towards Trijona; 

 but its general appearance is entirely that of a 

 Mrtipona; approaching vey closely to that of 

 a Melipo.ia favosa, Latr. , Apia favosa. Fab. 

 That it cannot be that species, or any of the 

 nearly related ones described by M. Latreille in 

 the Observations Zoologiques, is evident from 

 the dentation of its mandible, and it may, 

 therefore, be regarded as new to science. 



