oell-maejno iNSTimr. 267 



to the individual under its conditions of life, it may reason- 

 ably be asked, how a long and graduated succession of 

 modified architectural instincts, all tending toward the pres- 

 ent perfect plan of construction, could have profited the 

 progenitors of the hive-bee? I think the answer is not 

 difficult: cells constructed like those of the bee or the wasp 

 gain in strength, and save much in labor and space, and in 

 the materials of which they are constructed. With respect 

 to the formation of wax, it is known that bees are often 

 hard pressed to get sufficient nectar, and I am informed 

 by Mr. Tegetmeier that it has been experimentally proved 

 that from twelve to fifteen pounds of dry sugar are con- 

 sumed by a hive of bees for the secretion of a pound of 

 wax; so that a prodigious quantity of fluid nectar must 

 be collected and consumed by the bees in a hive for the 

 secretion of the wax necessary for the construction of their 

 combs. Moreover, many bees have to remain idle for 

 many days daring the process of secretion. A large 

 store of houey is indispensable to support a large stock of 

 bees during the winter; and the security of the hive is 

 known mainly to depend on a large number of bees being 

 supported. Hence the saving of wax by largely saving 

 honey, and the time consumed in collecting the honey, 

 must be an important element of success to any family 

 of bees. Of course the success of the species may be de- 

 pendent on the number of its enemies, or parasites, or on 

 quite distinct causes, and so be altogether independent 

 of the quantity of honey wliich the bees can collect. But 

 let us suppose that this latter circumstance determined, as 

 it probably often has determined, whether a bee allied 

 to our humble-bees could exist in large numbers in any 

 country; and let us further suppose that the community 

 lived through the winter, and consequently required a store 

 of honey: there can in tliis case be no doubt that it would 

 be an advantage to our imaginary humble-bee if a slight 

 modification in her instincts led her to make her waxen 

 cells near together, so as to intersect a little; for a wall in 

 common even to two adjoining cells would save some little 

 labor and wax. Hence, it would continually be more and 

 more advantageous to our humble bees, if they were to 

 make their cells more and more regular, nearer together, 

 and aggregated into a mass, like the cells of the Melipona; 



