THE SOVEREIGN WORKER-BEE 137 



With the store-combs the six angles of the cell 

 fulfil an equally important office. The ideal honey- 

 cell would be one with its mouth opening upwards, 

 so that it could be filled in an ordinary rational 

 way. But under the strict economical principles 

 ruling in the hive such an arrangement would be 

 impracticable. The honey-vats must be stacked 

 one over the other in a horizontal position, and 

 therefore must be chargeable from the end. All 

 cells in the comb have a slight upward tilt^^ But 

 not enough to retain the fluid contents if the cell 

 were a round one. The effect of the angles in 

 the hexagon is to increase the retentive property 

 of the cell, and experience has taught the bees 

 how to supplement this natural holding power of 

 the angles by just that slight cant of the cell which 

 is necessary to prevent the nectar running out. 



The worker-bee, during her period of larval life, 

 at first lies coiled up at the bottom of the cell, but 

 as her size increases she takes up a position 

 lengthways, with her head towards the cell-mouth. 

 This, however, is not a constant attitude, for she 

 seems at intervals to make a series of slow gyra- 

 tions or somersaults, probably to facilitate the 

 casting of her skin, which she accomplishes several 

 times during her five days' life as a grub. At the 

 end of this time the nurse-bees stop the feeding 

 process and seal up the cell. Now the larva sets 

 to work, first to spin herself a silken shroud before 

 entering on her long sleep as a chrysalis, and then 



