834 



THE BEE KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



ing during the spring. In early spring it is 

 particularly noticable. The combs can be 

 seen severed from the end bars by reason of 

 the extreme shrinkage, during the cold of 

 winter. As the attachments are small, and 

 and the brood seldom extends to them, there 

 are no coccoons to furnish additional 

 strength, the breakage occurs where the 

 least damage is done, and where the repair 

 can be most readily accomplished, and at 

 a season when the colony has sufficient 

 time for the work. When the temperature 

 is such as to cause the flow of nectar. How 

 beautifully Nature has adapted her imper- 

 fections to the economy of the hive ! 



Although beeswax is, comparatively speak- 

 ing, a slow conductor of heat, still the ex 

 pansion is great. This is noticable in the 

 cooling of wax after being poured into pans. 

 The shrinkage is about one quarter of an 

 inch to the foot or about twice that of 

 iron castings. 



Aside from the fact referred to, and the 

 impossibility of overcoming it, wax has in 

 itself that which far transcends the value of 

 any perfect nonconductor and without 

 which no artificial comb can be wholly 

 acceptable to the bees. I refer to it as being 

 impervious to water ; and, as a product of 

 the bees, is in itself more or less acceptable 

 to them in proportion as it is incorporated 

 with other substances. It being impervious 

 to water the food supply as furnished to the 

 larv* cannot be absorbed or lose any of its 

 constituent parts ; and, likewise, honey is 

 wonderfully retained without loss. But 

 withal, the material from which comb is 

 made is so plastic, that the repair work of 

 the colony is most readily accomplished, 

 and when we come to consider the amount of 

 work included under this head it is some- 

 what surprising. 



What proportion of the combs which have 

 been oeoupiedby a colony for twenty years, 

 are twenty years old 'i Upon examation 

 we shall find that autumn is the season for 

 renovating old comb. Not infrequently the 

 cells are torn down a considerable distance 

 and the accummulations removed, the cells 

 again lengthened, and the regulation depth 

 maintained, so that in reality old combs are 

 practically removed. Of course it is im- 

 possible for the bees to renew the base of 

 ■the cells. A compensation, however, is 

 brought about by lengthening them suffi- 

 ciently to overcome the loss of depth by 

 reason of the larval cast skins which accu- 



mulate at the bottom. As the abdomen of 

 each maturing bee is tapering and occupies 

 a place at the base of the cell, no amount of 

 accumulation can dwarf them so long as the 

 outer end is renovated and the regulation 

 depth is maintained. Again we see the 

 impossible met by the skill of the bee in 

 the renovating of old combs. 



In considering the size and depth of cells 

 for meeting the requirements of the queen, 

 t'.ie impossible again presents itself. In a 

 previous article under the head or title of 

 "Artificial Comb, " I stated how the queen 

 was aided in the fecundation of eggs to pro- 

 duce workers by the size of the cells, and, 

 as already shown in this paper, how the 

 transition cells are made to guide the queen 

 in the laying or worker eggs. Referring to 

 the illustration, we will see that the mouth 

 of the inverted queen cell corresponds in size 

 with those of worker cells. In proof, the 

 reader will do well to take measurement 

 from the illustration with a pair dividers ; 

 as a single opening with a narrow edge 

 always appears larger than an aggreagation 

 of them, although the same in size. This is 

 an illustration of the many queen cells I 

 have measured at the time of depositing 

 the egg, and in every instance the mouth 

 measured corresponded with those of work- 

 er cells. Here again we see the worker 

 adapting the size of the cell mouth to meet 

 the requirements of the queen for laying 

 fecundated eggs. After the egg hatches the 

 cell is enlarged to meet the requirements of 

 the embryo quee , and in this respect the 

 work of construction goes on alike both in 

 the regular and forced queen cells, the for- 

 mer being built as the larvte develops and 

 the latter over the larva- originally intended 

 for a worker. 



Let us now consider the depth of cells, 

 not only from the standpoint of egg laying, 

 but for breeding and storage purposes. It 

 is noteworthy, that worker cells are pri- 

 marily, to retvr worker bees in ; and are en- 

 closures occupying the least possible space, 

 constructed from a given amount of ma- 

 terial. Being constructed to accommodate 

 a worker, the depth is also beautifully adapt- 

 ed to the requirements of the queen. How- 

 ever, the queen can deposit eggs in work- 

 er cells % of an inch deep, being % more 

 than the regulation depth. 1 have proved 

 this many times by using hives containing 

 wooden combs with cells % of an inch in 

 depth exclusively worker size, also with 



