366 BEES-WAX. 



with honey, and retaining it in them, hang together 

 in a cluster from the top of the" hive, and remain 

 inactive about twenty-four hours. During this 

 time the wax is secreted, and may be seen in 

 laminae, under the abdominal scales, whence it is 

 removed by the hind legs of the bee, and trans- 

 ferred to the fore legs ; from them it is taken by 

 the jaws, and after being masticated as described 

 in Chap, xxxiv, page 347, the fabrication of comb 

 commences. 



" To see the wax-pockets in the hive-bee, you 

 must press the abdomen, so as to cause its dis- 

 tention ; you will then find, on each of the four 

 intermediate ventral segments, separated by the 

 carina or elevated central part, two trapeziform 

 whitish pockets, of a soft membranaceous texture : 

 on these the laminae of wax are formed, in differ- 

 ent states, more or less perceptible*." 



MESSRS. HUBER and SON ascertained that the 

 office of collecting honey, for the elaboration of 

 wax, is filled by a particular description of bees 

 or labourers, to which they have given the name 

 of wax-workers. These bees are susceptible of an 

 increase in size, as is evident from the state of 

 their stomachs, when quite full of honey. Dis- 

 section has shown that their stomachs are more 

 capacious than those of the bees that are differ- 



* Kirby and Spence. 



