176 THE BEE-KEEPER’S MANUAL. 
required is very great, it being estimated that 
thirteen to twenty pounds are necessary to make 
one pound of wax; hence, if the combs of a hive 
weigh two pounds and a half, there will be some 
forty pounds of honey consumed in their pro- 
duction—a fact illustrating the great temporary loss 
incidental to the issue of swarms. The popular 
opinion is, that the substance often scen adhering 
so abundantly to the legs of bees is wax, and that as 
such it is the basis of the combs. But at the time 
when comb-building is proceeding more rapidly than 
at any other period, the bees are loaded with but 
little of this substance; while in the early spring, 
when few or no combs are constructed, they carry it 
into the hive with the utmost avidity. ‘To see the 
wax-pockets in the hivetbee,” observe Kirby and 
Spence, “you must press the abdomen, so as to 
cause its distention; you will then find on each of 
the four intermediate ventral segments, separated by 
the carina or elevated central part, two trapeziform 
whitish pockets, of a soft membranaceous texture ; 
on these the lamine of wax are formed, in different 
states, more or less perceptible.” ‘‘ Whenever combs 
are wanted,” says Dr. Bevan, “bees fill their crops 
with honey, and, retaining it in them, hang together 
in a cluster from the top of the hive, and remain 
apparently in a state of profound inactivity about 
twenty-four hours. During this time, the wax is 
secreted, and may be seen in lamins, under the 
abdominal scales, whence it is removed by the hind 
lees of the bee, and transferred to the fore legs ; 
from them it is taken by the jaws, and after being 
