426 INSECTS. 



thickness of the scale is the same with that of the sides of the comb ; 

 if so, then a comb may be no more than a number of these united ; 

 but a great deal of the comb seems to be too thick for this, and, 

 indeed, would appear to be a mixture, similar to the covering of 

 the chrysalis. The wax naturally is white, but when melted from 

 the comb at large, it is yellow. I apprehend this might arise from 

 its being stained with honey, the excrement of the maggots, and 

 with the bee-bread. I steeped some white comb in honey, boiled 

 some with farina, as also with old comb, but I cannot say that it 

 was made yellower. Wax, by bleaching, is brought back to its 

 natural colour, which is also a proof that its colour is derived from 

 some mixture. I have reason to believe that they take the old 

 comb, when either broken down, or by any accident rendered 

 useless, and employ it again ; but this can only be with combs 

 that have had no bees hatched in them, for the wax cannot be sepa- 

 rated from the cells afterwards. Reaumur supposed that they new- 

 worked up the old materials, because he found the covering of the 

 chrysalis of a yellower colour than the other parts of the new 

 comb ; but this is always so, whether they have old yellow comb 

 to work up, or not, as will be shewn. 



66 The bees who gather the farina also form the wax, for I found 

 it between their scales. 



" The cells, or rather the congeries of cells, which compose 

 the comb, may be said to form perpendicular plates, or partitions, 

 which extend from top to bottom of the cavity in which they build 

 them, and from side to side. They always begin at the top, or 

 roof of the vault, in which they build, and work downwards ; but 

 if the upper part of this vault, to which their combs are fixed, is 

 removed, and a dome is put over, they begin at the upper edge of 

 the old comb, and work up into the new cavity at the top. They 

 generally may be guided as to the direction of their new plates of 

 comb, by forming ridges at top, to which they begin to attach their 

 comb. In a long hive, if these ridges are longitudinal, their plates 

 of comb will be longitudinal ; if placed transverse, so will be the 

 plates ; and if oblique, the plates of comb will be oblique. Each 

 plate consists of a double set of cells, whose bottoms form the par- 

 tition between each set. The plates themselves are not very re- 

 gularly arranged, nor forming a regular plane where they might 



