PROPOLIS AND WATER. 33 



into wax. It is used principally for feeding maggots lq 

 their ceUs, and hence it is termed " bee-bread." 



If it -were used in comb - building, swarms put into 

 empty hives would gather much of it ; but we find that 

 all such swarms do not gather any poUen for some days, 

 or tiU some combs are built to contain it. In most hives 

 it is stored in their centres where the young are hatched ; 

 and often there is stored far too much of it. Though 

 some seasons are remarkable for the abundance of bee- 

 bread stored up, and though some hives have more than 

 others, it is never in Great Britain a scarce article in 

 hives of bees. The hive that has fewest cells filled, or 

 half filled with it, is generally the most prosperous — all 

 other things being equal. Bees do not eat it, and will 

 die of starvation with a superabundance of it in their 

 combs. 



CHAPTER XL 



PROPOLIS AND WATER. 



Propolis is a kind of cement used in hives to fill up all 

 holes and cracks, and prevent unnecessary ventilation. 

 It is a substance not absolutely necessary to the well- 

 being of a hive ; but, doubtless, the bees derive benefit 

 from using it, otherwise they would not collect it. It is 

 a sort of resin or gum, sometimes called bee-glue, and is 

 collected from the buds of poplar and other trees. It is 

 a harder substance than either wax or bee-bread. 



Water is largely used in the height of the breeding 

 season. It is used with bee-bread in feeding young bees. 

 It is collected in dewy mornings, and after showers, from 



