602 INSECTA. 



to the younger Hiilier, is but an elaboration of honpy ; ami the pollen, mixed with a little of this substance, sen'es 

 only for the food of these insects and their larva;. 



Hulier distin;2;aisiies two kinds of "Worker Bees : the first, wliieh he calls AVax ^Yorkers, are char;j,-eJ with the 

 p:athering: of food and otlier materials for the buildinf,% and in their employment ; the others, or Nurse Bees, are 

 smaller and weaker, formed for retreat, and employed solely in the nourishment of the younfr, and the interior 

 economy of the hive. 



We have seen that tjie workers resemble the females in various points : varinus curious eX]U-riinents have proved 

 that they are of the same sex, and that they may be transformed intn ^Mother Bees, if, whilst larvs, and durini^ 

 the three lirst days of tlieir^existence, they receive a peculiar nourishment, such as is alone tfiven to the larvse of 

 the future queens ; but they cannot in such cases acquire all the faculties of the latter, unless they are then placed 

 in a larg;e cell, similar to tlie royal cell of tlie queen larvjc. If, fed with tliis kind of food, their abode is not chang-ed, 

 they become capable of laying only male egg:s, and difter fioni the true queens by their smaller size ; the worker 

 Bees are therefore nothing else than females, of which tlie ovaries, on account of the nature of the food witli which 

 they are fed whilst larv®, remain undeveloped. 



The matter of which the honey-comb is composed not being able to resist the inclemencies of the weather, and 

 these insects not possessing the instinct to form a general envelope, they establish themselves in cavities where 

 their labours find a natural defence. The workers, on whom alone the labours of the hive devolve, form with the 

 wax honeycombs consisting of double layers of hexagonal cells, which latter are opposed to each other, base to 

 base, the base of each cell being pyramidal, and consisting of three rhombs. The combs are always perpendicular, 

 paralkd, and fixed either by the upper part or side, and separated from each other by spaces which permit the 

 passage of the Bees: hence the direction of the cells is always horizontal. Mathematicians have demonstrated that 

 their form is at once the most economical in respect to the quantity of wax required, and the most advantageous 

 in respect to the space occupied by the cells. The Bees, however, have the instinct to moilify their form according 

 to circumstances. If we except the cell fitted for the larva and pupa of the queen, these cells are nearly of equal 

 size ; some contain the young brood, and others the honey and pollen of flowers ; amongst the honey-cells, some 

 are open, others closed for reserve. The royal cells, of which the number varies from two to forty, are much larger, 

 nearly cylindrical, rather thickened at the tip, with small cavities on their outer surface. They are generally sus- 

 pended like stalactites upon the edges of the comb, so that the larva is always in a reversed position ; some weigh 

 as much as 150 ordinary cells. Tlie males' cells are of an intermediate size between those of the queens and 

 workers, and are placed irregularly here and there. The Bees always extend their comb from the top down- 

 wards. They stop u|> the suklII a[)ertures of the habitation witli a kiud of mastic, wluch they collect from difterent 

 trec'S, called propolis. 



The coupling takes place at the beginning of summer, out of the hive, and it is supposed that a single fecundation 

 suflices for all the eggs which the female deposits during the course of two years, and probably dui ing all her life. 

 The deposition of eggs takes place rapidly, and ceases only in autumn ; Reaumur calculates that the female de- 

 posits 12,000 eggs in the course of twenty days in the spring. Guided by her instinct, she makes no mistakes in 

 the choice of the cells whicli are proper for the difterent eg^s ; sometimes, however, when there are not suflicient 

 cells, she places several eggs in one, "which the neuters subsequently remove. Those which are ileposited on the 

 return of spring, are always the eggs of workers, which hatch at the end of four or live days. The Bees take care 

 to give their larva; the necessary paste proportioned to their age and sex ; and seven days afterwards they are ready 

 to become pupa% when their cells are closed with a convex lid by the workers, whereupon the larvae line the interior 

 with a layer of silk, spin a cocoon, and become pupai. In about twelve more days they l)ecoine Bees, and disen- 

 gage themselves from these cells. The workers then clean out the cells they have left in order to be ready to 

 receive another egg. It is, however, otherwise with the royal cells, which are destroyed, and the Bees construct 

 new ones if necessary. Tlie eggs containing the nniles are deinK^ited two months later, and those of the females 

 soon after the latter. 



This succession of generations forms so many particular societies, capable of forming fresh colonies, and which 

 are known under the name of swarms ; a hive sometimes produces three or four in the year, but the last are 

 always weakest. Those which wngh fnim six to eight pounds are the best. When they become too numerous in 

 the hive, these swarms quit their old alimh'. Various particular signs indicate to the cultivator the loss which he 

 is aliout to sustain, and which he enile;i\uurs to prevent, or rathei'. to turn the emigration to his own advantage. 

 Bees sometimes undertake violent cuinliats amongst themselves : the males also, after they have impregnated the 

 females, from June to August, are destmyril by the workers, which also kill the male larva' and pupre. 



Bees have both internal and (■\tcni:il mi'inies, and are subject to difl'erent diseases. 



The Bee-keeper pays mucli iillnitiuM in ihese insects, choosing the most approved hives, namely, such as are 

 the least expensive in construction, the most favourable for the rearing of the Bees, and the best adapted for their 

 preservation. He studies their habits, prevents the occurrence of accidents to which they are liable, and, in 

 return, finds that he is well repaid for his trouble. The origin of bee-keeping is hidden in the darkness of anti- 

 quity ; with the ancients they were the hieroglyphic symbol of royalty. 



All the species of Apii- proper are confined to the old world : those of the south and east of Europe, as v.ell as 

 of Egy[it [and Intiia], differ from our species, which has been transplanted to America and other culunized parts, 

 where it has become acclimatised. 



The Irniiinal subgenus of Social Bees is 



Mr/ijidi/fi, lllig. (Trigona, Jur.), which ihllers from the preceding by having the basal joint of the hind tarsi of 

 the workers of a re\"ersed triangular funn. aiid\\ithout transverse striic ; tlio fure-wings have only twoculnlal 



