348 



THE WORLD OF ANIMAL LIFE 



Wax-worker, seen from below (magnified) 



of care, they build the foundation of a double set of cells, each of 

 which always has six sides. All the time that it is working, the 

 bee keeps feeling the walls of the cell with its horns, and so 



discovers if they are not 

 exactly of the right size 

 and shape. 



If we examine a newly- 

 made comb we may see 

 that the edges of the cells 

 are rather darker and 

 redder than the rest. This 

 is because the bee covers 

 them with a thick gum, 

 which it obtains chiefly 

 from the buds of the 

 horse-chestnut tree, or 

 from pines. And you 

 may often notice the 

 bees scraping this gum off, and carrying it away to their hives 

 to help them in building their combs. The bees also use it for 

 several other purposes. 



The cells are not always quite alike. Some are intended for 

 nurseries, in which the worker grubs are to live; and these are 



rather small. Others are 

 meant for the drone grubs; 

 and these are a little larger. 

 But others still are simply 

 built as store-rooms for 

 honey ; and these are the 

 largest of all. Between 

 every two combs the bees 

 leave a passage about half 

 an inch in width. 



As soon as the nursery 

 cells are completed, the queen bee comes and lays an egg in each. 

 She carefully examines every cell first, to ascertain whether it is 

 properly built and prepared. In order that she may not feel hungry 



Portion of Honey-comb — showing cells 



