ANALYTICAL EVIDENCE. 293 



soon as their laminae of wax are mature, return to the 

 hive and remain at rest, just as caterpillars do, when 

 about to change. In a swarm that is actively employed in 

 building, we may see thousands of bees hanging idly at 

 the top of the hive. These are all bees whose laminae of 

 wax are about to separate. When they have fallen off, 

 the activity of the bee revives, and its place is occupied 

 for the same purpose by another. 



[From page 28 of the same work.] In order to ascer- 

 tain how much honey bees require to form wax, and how 

 often, in a swarm engaged in building, the lamina? attain 

 maturity and fall off, I made the following experiment, 

 which appears to me not uninteresting. 



On the 29th of August, of this year (1841), at a time 

 when the bees could obtain in this district no further sup- 

 ply of honey from the fields, I emptied a small hive, placed 

 the bees in a small wooden hive, having first selected the 

 queen bee, and shut her up in a box, furnished with wires, 

 which I placed in the only door of the hive, so that no 

 embryos could enter the cells. I then placed the hive in 

 a window, that I might be able to watch it. 



At 6 P. M. I gave the bees 6 oz. of honey run from the 

 closed cells, which had thus the exact consistence of 

 freshly made honey. This had disappeared next morning. 

 In the evening of the 30th, I gave the bees 6 oz. more, 

 which, in like manner was removed by the next morning ; 

 but already some laminae of wax were seen lying on the 

 paper with which the honey was covered. On the 31st 

 August and the 1st September, the bees had in the even- 

 ing 10 oz., and on the 3d of September in the evening 

 7 oz. ; in all, therefore, 1 Ib. 13 oz. of honey, which had 

 25* 



