40 STUDIES IN INSECT LIFE, ETC. 



Right and left of this veil of bees will be parallel 



living veils engaged in form- 

 ing other combs so accur- 

 ately spaced that ultimately 

 the empty plane between 

 two finished combs is just 

 wide enough to allow two 

 bees to pass each other. 

 The topmost row of bees, 

 after kneading and mould- 

 ing the wax with their 

 jaws (mandibles), press it 

 in a line along the roof to 

 form a foundation for the 

 comb. This of course is 

 an upside-down founda- 

 tion, for bees construct 

 their comb from above 

 downwards. More wax is 



^^ SU ppli e d by the hang- 



J 



ing bees below, and passed 



tibia ~ 



pecten- 

 auricle- 



p/anta~ 



wax . 

 scale 



FIG. 3. 



Inner surface of the left hind 

 leg of a worker bee, showing the 

 position of a wax -scale immedi 



has been pierced by seven of the .. .- . ... - 



spines of the pollen combs of the forward to the builders 



first tarsal segment or planta. 



The jaw of the so-called wax of the foundation. As 



shears or pincers are formed by 



the pecten spines above and the SOQn as ^ e foundation 



surface of the auricle below. 



is secured, the living veil 

 disintegrates and the constituent bees begin 



