136 THE LORE OF THE HONEY-BEE 



system of vertical walls parallel and close together, 

 made up of numberless small horizontal chambers 

 placed back to back, is not an ideal arrangement 

 either for the raising of the young or the storing 

 of food. Yet it is the best possible contrivance 

 under the circumstances, which are forced upon 

 the bee by the necessity of leading a close, 

 crowded, communal life. Air is a prime need for 

 all operations in the hive, but for none more than 

 the development of the young bees. When a 

 queen is to be raised, a full supply of fresh air 

 is given her, but only at the expense of valuable 

 space. With the common kind, of which perhaps 

 ten or fifteen thousand may be maturing in the 

 brood-nest at one and the same time, it is obviously 

 impossible to make any such concession. The 

 young worker- or drone-larva must secure what 

 air it can through the narrow cell-top. Now, the 

 bee breathes at all stages of its career not through 

 the mouth, but by means of air-holes or spiracles 

 in the sides of its body. If the cell were round, 

 the larva, when fairly grown, would fill the space, 

 and the air would reach the spiracles only with 

 difificulty. But, no matter what the size of the 

 young grub may be, the angles of the hexagon 

 cell are never quite filled. They form half a dozen 

 by-passes for the air, arranged on all sides, and 

 extending right to the base of the cell ; and thus 

 the larva has the full benefit of the available air- 

 supply, even though it be necessarily scanty. 



