HONEY-BEES. 



343 



nothing but the nectar of flowers, which the bees dis- 

 gorge from their honey-bags, retaining what is needed 

 for their individual food. Propolis is a resinous and 

 odorous substance, taken directly from plants, and used 

 for lining the hive or stopping up holes in it, and oc- 

 casionally for building a prison around some intruding 

 slug. Wax is secreted by 

 the bees themselves ; they 

 can produce it when fed on 

 honey alone. It is secreted 

 by the walls of the abdomen 



FIG. 307. 



FIG. 308. 



Hind leg of honey-bee, A ; of hum- 

 ble-bee (Bombus lapidarius), B. 



FRAGMENT OF HONEY-COMB, show- 

 ing empty six-sided cells, full 

 cells with opening closed, and 

 one large queen's cell. 



in the space between the segments, and is used for the 

 construction of the cells or comb. Each of these cells 

 is a sort of hexagonal cup ; the comb is composed of 

 two layers of such cups placed bottom to bottom, and 

 in them are placed not only the eggs and Iarva3, but the 

 provisions of honey and pollen necessary for the life 



