1030 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 1 



FIG. 3— SOAP-BUBBLES BLOWN BETWEEN TWO PIECES GF GLASS TO SHOW THE RESEM- 

 BLANCE TO HONEY-COMB. 





^ 



il^i 



^M^ 



FIG. 4.— A COMBINATION OF WORKER AND DRONE CELLS. 

 None of the angles are sharp, and most of the cells are circular. 



kinds, drone-cells and worker- 

 cells, are practically the same in 

 form, the drone-cells differing 

 in being larger. As their names 

 imply, they are used for rearing 

 drones (the male bees) and work- 

 ers (undeveloped females). Both 

 kinds of cells are nearly hori- 

 zontal, slanting upward slightly 

 from the center to the exterior 

 of the comb. Both kinds are 

 used for the storage of honey, 

 and this slight inclination facil- 

 itates the filling of the cell, and 

 prevents the honey from run- 

 ning out before the cap is added. 

 See Fig. 1. 



All three forms are primarily 

 cylindrical. The queen -cells, 

 isolated from the others, always 

 remain cylindrical. All solitary 

 bees (not honey-bees) make such 

 cells The hexagonal form is 

 due largely to mutual pressure, 

 and partly to optical illusion. 

 Cells near the edge of the comb, 

 where it is attached to some 

 support, are either circular or 

 elongated circular. See Fig. 2. 



A soap-bubble floating in air 

 is circular in every direction — 

 that bubble is a sphere. Let it 

 fall on a table and it becomes 

 flattened on one side. Let there 

 be pressure on every part, and 

 the outlines are no longer cir- 

 cles but polygons. Let a mass 



