THE HIVE BEE. 31 
but lives upon an entirely different diet, and which is, ap- 
parently, of a more stimulating character; and it is now 
well known, that ifa young grub which has been hatched in 
one of the worker-cells be removed into the royal-cell, and 
supplied with royal food, it becomes developed into a queen, 
and, in time, is qualified to rule and populate a hive. 
This remarkable provision of nature is intended to meet 
a difficulty, which sometimes occurs, when the reigning 
queen dies, and there is no royal larva in the cell. 
Although the primary object of the Bee-cell is to serve 
as a storehouse and a nursery, it also is made to answer 
other purposes. When the Bee seeks repose, it almost in- 
variably creeps into a cell, and buries itself deeply therein, 
the whole head, thorax, and part of the abdomen being 
hidden. Ifa hive be examined in the winter-time, every 
cell that happens to be empty will be tenanted by a Bee ; 
and when the poor insects are put to death by the absurd 
and cruel plan of smothering them with the fumes of burn- 
ing sulphur, they will be found to have vainly sought escape 
from the suffocating vapour by forcing themselves into the 
recesses of the empty cells. 
Asa general fact, the Bees place the honey in the coolest 
part of the hive, and the young brood in the warmest; so 
that Bee-keepers are enabled to procure honeycomb of 
wonderful purity by affixing glass or wooden caps to their 
hives. These caps are necessarily cooler than the body 
of the hive, and therein the Bees will store large quantities 
of honey. 
The chief point which distinguishes the comb of the Hive 
Bee from that of other insects, is the manner in which the 
cells are arranged in a double series. The combs of the 
wasp or the hornet are single, and are arranged horizontally, 
so that their cells are vertical, with the mouths downwards 
and the bases upwards, the united bases forming a floor on 
