THE WDUKICU-BKIC. 



71 



beneath it, and the discarded garment, more delicate than 

 gossamer. Is pushed to the bottom of the cell." — (Cheshire.) 



16S. "The nursins- ' 



bees now seal over the 

 cell with a light brown 

 cover, externally more 

 or less convex (the cap 

 of a drone-cell being 

 more convex than that 

 of a worker), and thus Fig. 27. 



diflering from that of a stketched in the cell. 



honey -cell, which is (Magnifled.) 



paler and somewhat concave."— (" Bevan on the Honey-Bee.") 



The cap ol the brood-cell is made not of pure wax, but 

 of a mixture of bee-bread and wax ; and appears under the 

 microscope to be full of fine holes, to give air to the in- 

 closed insect. From its texture and shape it is easily thrust 

 off by the bee when mature, whereas if it consisted wholly 

 of wax, the insect would either perish for lack of air, or be 

 unable to force its way into the world. Both the material 

 and shape of the lids which close the honey-cells are differ- 

 ent: they are of pure wax, and are slightly concave, the 



better to resist the pres- 

 sure of their contents. 

 The bees sometimes 

 neglect to cap the cells 

 of some of the brood, 

 and some persons have 

 thought that this brood 

 was diseased, but it 

 hatches all the same. 

 The larva is no sooner 



Fig. 28. 



THE TRANSFORMATION IN THE SEALED 



CELL. 



(Magnified.) 



perfectly inclosed, than it begins to spin a cocoon after the 

 manner of the silk-worm, and Cheshire teaches us that it 

 does not encase the insect, but is only at the mouth of the 

 cell, " and in no case extends far down the sides." 



