WAX. 69 



It occasionally happens that, owing to a great 

 in-flow of honey, the weight of the combs endangers 

 their security, and the bees, seeing the danger of 

 their breaking down, resort to a most clever method 

 of rendering their treasures safe. Gnawing away a 

 small part of the topmost row of the combs on one 

 side, they lay a broader foundation, and then, with a 

 strongly glutinous mixture of wax and propolis, they 

 fasten afresh the upper cells to their points of attach- 

 ment. Having completed one side, they then proceed 

 in the same way with the other, till they are satisfied 

 of the firmness of the whole structure. 



Again, if the supply of food outruns the capacity 

 of their store-houses as first made, they will often 

 lengthen the cells, till, especially in the case of 

 supers, they reach the length of even two inches 

 more than twice the normal size. 



The queen-cells are remarkably distinguished from 

 those for workers or drones, in respect to size, direc- 

 tion, shape, and amount of material. They occupy 



FIG. 19 THE QUEEN CELL. 



at least as much space as half a dozen ordinary cells. 

 They are directed downwards, instead of lying hori- 

 zontally. They are irregularly oval or pyriform in 



