9214 Entomological Society. 
and which gradnally ran into the hexagonal shape where they came in contact with 
the regular cells of the old comb; other pieces coutained cells which appeared to be 
circular-cylindrical ; and a specimen of comb containing three queen-cells bad on each 
of those cells a number of hemispherical excavations. My. Tegetineicr was of opinion 
that the cell of the hive-bee was invariably hemispherical at its commencement, and a 
section of a cell which was not in coutact with other cells was always circular; hemi- 
spherical cups or depressions were hollowed out, these eXcavations were made near to 
one another, almost in contact, and the bees enlarged them until they came in contact; 
the enlargement being continued to the full extent possible (or, in other words, the 
bees gnawing away all the niaterial so far as was cunsistent with the integrity of the 
comb), the cells of necessity assumed the hexagonal form. He did not believe that 
the pressure of contiguous cells upon each other had anything tu do with the form of 
the cell, nor did he believe in the existence of a “ hexagoual instinct” or “ geometrical 
instinct” in the bee; the hexagonal form was a consequence of the property of space 
that, of seven circles of equal radii, six will just surround the seventh; if it had been 
the case in nature that seven circles would just surround another of equal radius, then 
the cells of bees, when in contact, would have been heptagoual, instead of hexagonal. 
Mr. F. Smith remarked that Mr. Tegetmeier’s observation that a cell was invariably 
commenced as a hemisphere, if true of the hive-bee, was not true of all wasps, those, 
e.g., Which built dependent nests, starting from a flat or plane base. 
Mr. F. Smith read the following account, supplied by Mr. S. Stone, of Bright- 
hampton, of the manner in which that genUeman had induced a colouy of wasps to 
construct the series of six nests, of extraordinary shapes, which were exhibited at the 
previous Meeting of the Society :—~ 
“ About the middle of the month of August, 1862, a large nest of Vespa germanica 
was taken by a person residing at Stanlake, a village adjoining Brighthampton. Tt 
was brought home by him, tied up in a handkerchief, and deposited for the night in a 
yoom in his house. In the morning word was seut me that if I could go down and 
fetch it away I might have it. Now it so happened that I could not go that day or the 
next, su it was allowed to remain where it was; but, as might have been expected, the 
insects very soon found their way through the handkerchief in which the nest was 
enclosed, completely riddling it, when a second was tied round it, which of course soon 
shared the fate of the first. It was then placed in a sack, such a one as those used by 
farmers or millers, through which they were not long in making their way, although 
they must have found it tougher work than eating through the handkerchief. The 
sack with its contents was next put into a hamper and tied down. On the third day 
1 had an opportunity of sending for it, and on its arrival proceeded to remove the 
different coverings, and make some arrangement for placing the combs contained in 
the nest (which, in consequence of the treatinent to which it had been subjected, was 
of course in itself a complete ruin) in a more favourable situation for work than the 
one they then occupied. This was a ticklish piece of work, but somehow or other 
I managed to separate two or three combs from the mass, which I reduced in size with 
a pair of scissors, and running a wire through them placed them inside a small square 
box (Nu. 1 of the series), the combs resting on the bottom of the box and the wire 
reaching from thence to the top: I then fixed the box in the window of a room, 
making an aperture through the back of the box to currespond with‘one in the window, 
for the purpose of allowing the insects to pass out and in. The front of the box was 
of glass, moveable at pleasure, by means of which I could introduce a constant supply 
