IS!) I. 



/ // /•. . i .1/ /•; RICA \ 11 /•: /•; k /■: /■: / ' /•: /.' . 



153 



can be produced without nitrogenous 

 food; but we see, that wax-secretion 

 requires much muscular exertion ami 

 this* may consume the nitrogen in the 

 blood veiy rapidly. Experiments have 

 proven, that bees in a very short time 

 will secrete wax without pollen and 

 then die. 



In the "Api." 1888, page 11. I said: 

 may be, they get some (wax) as 

 side produce by feeding young larva', 

 but I can't prove this yet. Now I can 

 further explain this idea. 



If the bees prepare the chyle for 

 feeding the young larva 1 , the stomach 

 is in condition for secreting wax. To 

 vomit this chyle, the stomach is com- 

 pressed; the same as is done when 

 wax is secreted. Would it be impos- 

 sible in warm weather, when the bees 

 breathe in a higher degree, that some 

 of this chyle should pass the walls of 

 the stomach, to be transformed to 

 wax. 



HOW THE BEES lini.H COM lis. 



The building of cells is done in the 

 following way: The wax-scales are 

 taken by the claws ami carried between 

 the two jaws, here they are kneaded, 

 mixed with saliva and formed into 

 small globules. These globules are 

 pressed by the bees in place, by the 

 jaws, and by the labrum. So globule 

 to globule is added to a circle if the 

 bees commence to build the side walls 

 of a cell and to a flat if they build the 

 middle wall or bottoms of the comb. 



So the cells are commenced in a cir- 

 cular form and now the question arise- 

 as to how these cells become hexago- 

 nal? 



It is no question, that this trans- 

 formation is done in a mechanical way 

 and that this form so many times 



praised as the best, and saving the 

 most material comes out necessarily by 

 the way the bees do the building. 



To understand this way, the well- 

 known experiment with peat made by 

 Buffon I do not need to talk about. 

 Some years ago Dr. Moellenhof pub- 

 lished a new theory. He said that 

 the bees pressed the wax by their 

 heads; so six bees must necessarily 

 press against one point in the same 

 time and with the same power. This 

 theory is a mistake, because: 



1. The form of the bee-head is not 

 adapted to this purpose, it is probable 

 that the eyes, antenna; and fine hairs 

 of the bees would soon be destroyed 

 by so doing. 



2. A single paper-wasp builds hex- 

 agonal cells. 



3. The bees build cells of different 

 size. 



4. Small starters of hexagonal form 

 are built outside of the queen- 

 cells, where no other bees can press 

 from inside. 



5. Many times we find eggs in just- 

 started cells with very shallow round 

 walls, and these eggs would not stand 

 that pressing business. 



Now we look at a bee building 

 comb we see that he lowers his head 

 — so it may seem the bee presses the 

 head against the wax. The circular 

 cell-wall just started is very much 

 thicker usually. The bee now catches 

 by its claws the sides of this wall and 

 pulls the wax in horizontal direction 

 — i. e. in the direction from the mid- 

 dle wall. The jaws arc especially 

 adapted here for being broad and 

 having fine teeth, so they are used 

 like a pair of tongs or a nipper. 



To explain this further we can 



