Wonders of Insect Architecture. 



of the hive ; while apparently the only creature that 

 will eat it is the larva of the Wax Moth, against whose 

 depredations, however, a strong hive of bees will always 

 hold their own. 



The wax-secreting organs lie just under the segments 

 of the abdomen of the bee, three on each side of the 

 body ; and when the process of wax secretion is going 

 on, the little whitish oblong scales of wax can be seen 

 projecting from under the body segments. One of the 

 joints of the hind leg of the worker bee is wonderfully 

 modified so as to form a special instrument for the 

 removal of the wax from the body segments. The wax 

 is then transferred to the insect's jaws to be masticated, 

 and, with the addition of saliva, worked up into a paste 

 and materially increased in bulk. The resulting soft, 

 pliable material is then applied to the construction of 

 the comb. 



The building of a new bee city is a serious under- 

 taking, and many and complicated are the problems 

 which confront its builders in the course of their labours. 

 The way in which these difficulties are surmounted, and 

 the perfection of result attained, fill one with admira- 

 tion and wonder. In the city about to be bailt accom- 

 modation has to be provided for some twenty thousand 

 or more individuals. Provision must be made for the ade- 

 quate supply of nurseries, as something like ten thousand 

 or twelve thousand baby bees may be requiring attention 

 at one time. Then sufficient storerooms must be built 

 in which to pack away enough food supplies to carry 

 the community over the long six months of autumn and 

 winter, when no supplies can be procured outside the 

 hive. All this has to be planned within a limited space, 



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