326 THE INSECT WORLD. 
the larvee of the workers, the middling-sized ones for the larvz of 
‘the males, and the large ones for the larvee of the queens. 























































Fig. 317.—Cells constructed by Bees. 
These last—that. is, the royal cells—are generally only about 
twenty in number, in a hive containing 
twenty thousand bees. Constructed of a 
mixture of wax and of propolis, resembling 
a rounded thimble, they form tubes of half 
an inch long, turned towards the exterior, 
and placed always vertically, in such a 
_ manner as to appear detached from the comb. 
The weight of a royal cell is equivalent to 
that of a hundred other cells. The bees 
spare nothing to make it comfortable and 
spacious. “It is quite a Louvre,” says 
Fig. 318.—The cells of a Beehive. Réaumur. 
A, large cell intended for the 
larvee of the queens. B,midding- But independently of their use as cradles, 
sized cells intended for the larve 
of the males. C, small cells in- these cells serve as store-houses for honey. 
tended for the larve of the 
workers. A few of these are used in turn for both 
these purposes, but a great number are reserved exclusively for 

