430 HONEY PRODUCTION. 
is over, the greater part of the bees have harvested, and 
brought, to their newly-hatched companions, all the honey 
that the latter can possibly hold in their sacks. What shall 
they do with the surplus? They have to go into that upper 
story, and hang there (205) for hours, waiting for the 
honey to be transformed into beeswax, by the wonderful ac- 
tion of these admirable little stomachs, whose work man can- 
not imitate, despite hisscience. But, while this slow trans- 
formation is going on, while the small scales of wax are 
emerging from under the rings of the abdomen (201) of 
each industrious little worker; while their sisters are slowly 
but busily carrying, moulding and arranging the warm little 
pieces of wax in their respective places, in order to build 
the frail comb (206); during all this time, the honey is 
flowing in the blossoms, and the other colony is fast increas- 
ing its supply of sweets. Meanwhile, the few bees, which 
have found a place for their load, go back after more, and, 
finding no room, they watch for the appearance of each 
hatching bee, from its cell, and at once fill that cell with 
honey; thus depriving the queen of her breeding-room, 
and forcing her to remain idle, at a time when she should 
be laying most busily. 
The loss is therefore treble. First, this colony loses the 
present work of all the bees which have to remain inside to 
help make wax. Secondly, it loses the honey of which this 
wax ismade. Thirdly, it loses the production of thousands 
of workers, by depriving the queen of her breeding-room, 
in the brood-chamber. All this, for what purpose? To 
enable the owner to eat his honey with the wax (719); 
when, as every one well knows, wax is tasteless and in- 
digestible. 
One word more in regard to the loss of production, by 
the crowding of the queen. This loss is two-fold in itself, 
When the bees find that the queen is crowded out of her 
