AUSTRALASIAN BEE MANUAL 



29 



It has been pointed out that, while honey and sugar 

 contain by weight about eight pounds of oxygen to 

 one of carbon and hydrogen, beeswax contains only 

 one pound of the first to more than sixteen of the two 

 latter; and that, as the combustion of oxygen is the 

 great source of animal heat, the large quantity con- 

 sumed in the conversion of honey into wax " must aid 



Fig. II. UNDER SIDE OF ABDOMEN OF WORKER BEE, 



SHOWING WAX POCKETS AND WAX SCALES. 



in generating the extraordinary heat which enables the 

 bees to mould the softened wax into such exquisitely 

 delicate and beautiful forms." The force of this 

 observation will be seen when we recollect that wax 

 requires a temperature of about 145° to melt it, though 

 it may be moulded, by pressure, at 100° or less. Is 

 it not probable that the way, in which it has been said 

 that " bee-bread assists the bee in producing the wax," 

 as Langstroth expresses it, is that its nitrogenous 

 qualities serve to keep up the bodily strength of the 

 insect during the exhausting work of secreting the wax 

 and building the comb? This appears to be Professor 

 Cook's view. At all events, it is now well known that 



