ARCHITECTURE OF BEES. 351 



Nor heed the wasted wax, nor rifted cell, 

 To bid, with fretted round, th' imperial palace swell." 



EVANS. 



The form of these royal cells is an oblong 

 spheroid, tapering gradually downwards, and 

 having the exterior full of holes, somewhat re- 

 sembling the rustic work of stone buildings. The 

 mouth of the cell, which is always at its bottom, 

 remains open till the maggot is ready for trans- 

 formation, and is then closed as the others are. 



Immediately on the emergence of a ripened 

 queen, the lodge which she inhabited is destroyed, 

 and its place is supplied by a range of common 

 cells. The site of this range may always be 

 traced, by that part of the comb being thicker 

 than the rest, and forming a kind of knot ; some- 

 times the upper portion of the cell itself remains, 

 like an inverted acorn-cup, suspended by its 

 short peduncle. 



" Yet no fond dupes to slavish zeal resign'd, 

 They link with industry the loyal mind. 

 Flown is each vagrant chief? They raze the dome, 

 That bent oppressive o'er the fetter'd comb, 

 And on its knotted base fresh garners raise, 

 Where toil secure her well-earn'd treasure lays." 



EVANS. 



In this mutilated state only, and not in the 

 breeding season, could Mr. Hunter have seen this 

 cradle of royalty ; for he describes it as the half 

 of an oval, too wide and shallow to receive its 



