Honey- Comb Coral. 157 



storing, for such we better fashion the large-celled or drone- 

 comb. 



All comb when first formed is clear and translucent. 

 The fact that it is often dark and opaque implies that it has 

 been long used as brood comb, and the opacity is due to 

 the innumerable thin glue-like cocoons which line the cells. 

 These may be separated by dissolving the wax; which 

 may be done by putting it in boiling alcohol, or, better 

 still, by use of the solar wax-extractor. Such comb need 

 not be discarded, for if composed of worker-cells it is still 

 very valuable for breeding purposes, and should not be 



Fig. 54. 





*'"-S'' 





Honey-Comb Coraf, 



destroyed till the cells are too small for longer service, which 

 will not occur till after many years of use. The. function, 

 then, of the wax, is to make comb and caps for the honey 

 cells, and, combined with pollen, to form queen-cells (Fig. 

 53, d') and caps for the brood-cells. 



A very common fossil found in many parts of the East- 

 ern and Northern United States is, from its appearance, 

 often called petrified honey-comb. We have many such 

 specimens in our museum. In some cases the cells are 

 hardly larger than a pin-head; in others a quarter of an 



