122 THE HONEY-BEE. 



the change from honey to wax is effected, any more 

 than we can account for the elaboration of bile, 

 saliva, and the pancreatic liquid, from our blood by 

 the different organs connected with their production. 

 All we can say is, that the membrane of the wax- 

 receptacles is endowed with the peculiar power of 

 transforming the nectar of flowers into an oil. The 

 actual chemical change may be stated in general 

 terms thus : Honey and sugar contain, roughly 

 speaking, equal chemical equivalents of oxygen, 

 carbon, and hydrogen. In wax, the quantities of the 

 first of these elements is diminished to about an 

 eighth part, while the carbon and hydrogen are more 

 than quadrupled. In other words, the saccharine 

 material suffers very great de-oxidation in passing 

 into the condition of wax. 



The wax-oil, when it has filled the pocket in which 

 it is secreted, passes out of the body of the insect in 

 lamincs or scales, which take the shape of the bags in 

 which they have been produced. In contact with the 

 air, the wax absorbs a small quantity of oxygen, and 

 loses an equal amount of carbon. When about to be 

 used by the bee, it is picked off the under segments 

 of the body by the hind-legs, passed on to the fore- 

 feet, and by them is conveyed to the mouth, where, 

 by being mixed with saliva and well kneaded, it is 

 rendered pliant, ductile, and more tenacious. 



The reproductive organs of the queen consist, first, 

 of two large bags, one on each side of the abdomen, 

 and called ovaries, in which the eggs are generated. 

 When mature, these eggs pass by a tube from each 

 ovary to a common duct, on one side of which is 

 found a small yellow vesicle, called the spermatheca. 



