THE COMB-BUILDERS 199 
of the hive. Vermin do not prey upon it: so far 
as is known there is only one creature that will eat 
it—a peculiar kind of moth-larva, against which, 
however, a strong stock can always hold its own. 
And then, as the raw materials for its production 
are secretions of the bee’s own body, the work of 
preparing it can be carried on when darkness or 
stress of weather have put an end, for the time 
being, to work out of doors. 
The first labour undertaken by a swarm, directly 
it has gained possession of its new quarters, is the 
building of combs. The apparent revulsion of 
feeling which succeeds the excitement of swarm- 
ing soon passes off, and the energies of the whole 
party are at once concentrated on furnishing and 
victualling the new hive. The older bees com- 
mence foraging, each bee as she goes forth hover- 
ing a moment with her head towards the hive, to 
fix its location and appearance in her memory. By 
far the greater portion, however, remain at home 
and unite in a dense cluster for wax-making. Time 
is everything in these first operations of the new 
colony. The queen, with whom egg-laying has 
probably been suspended for a day past, or even 
longer, is overburdened with fecundity, and must 
be supplied with thousands of brood-cells without 
delay. The foragers will be coming home laden 
with nectar and pollen, and will need instant 
storage-room. Wax must be made with all possible 
expedition, and the young bees crowd together in 
