44 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. 



behold, in the perfect adaptation of means to ends, a 

 sagacity which seems scarcely inferior to that of man. 



" The eggs of bees* are of a lengthened, oval shape 

 (PL XIII, Fig. 39), with a slight curvature, and of a bluish 

 white color : being besmeared, at the time of laying, with 

 a glutinous substance, they adhere to the bases of the 

 cells, and remain unchanged in figure or situation for three 

 or four days ; they are then hatched, the bottom of each 

 cell presenting to view a small white worm. On its grow- 

 ing (PL Xin, Figs. 40, 41), so as to touch the opposite 

 angle of the cell, it coils itself up, to use the language of 

 Swammerdam, like a dog when going to sleep ; and floats 

 in a whitish transparent fluid, which is deposited in the 

 cells by the nursing-bees, and by which it is probably 

 nourished 1 ; it becomes gradually enlarged in its dimensions, 

 till the two extremities touch one another, and form a ring. 

 In this state it is called a larva, or worm. So nicely do 

 the bees calculate the quantity of food which will be "re- 

 quired, that none remains in the cell when it is transformed 

 to a nymph. It is the opinion of many eminent natural- 

 ists, that farina does not constitute the sole food of the 

 larva, but that it consists of a mixture of farina, honey, 

 and water, partly digested in the stomachs of the nursing- 

 bees. 



" The larva having derived its support, in the manner 

 above described, for four, five, or six days, according to 

 the season, continues to increase during that period, till it- 

 occupies the whole breadth, and nearly the length of the 

 cell. The nursing-bees now seal over the cell with a 

 light brown cover, externally more or less convex (the 

 cap of a drone-cell being more convex than that of a 

 worker), and thus differing from that of a honey-cell, which 

 is paler and somewhat concave." The cap of the broo4- 



* " Beran on the IToney-Bce." 



