102 THE BUILDING OF BEES. 



frames, every good piece of worker-comb may be given to 

 the bees (286). 



224. As we have seen before (217), while the small 

 cells are designated as worker-cells, the large ones, which 

 vary greatl}- in depth and are more especially prepared to 

 store honey, and in which the drones are raised, are known 

 as store or drone-cells. 



226. Generally, bees build a larger number of worker 

 than of store-cells ; yet they do not follow any regulation 

 as to the relative proportion in the quantity of each kind. 

 Not two colonies, in the same Apiary, will show the same 

 number of large cells, even when the hives are of equal 

 capacity, and even if the building was done in circumstances 

 seemingly identical. You will find a colony whose comb 

 will consist of two-thirds worker and one-third store cells, 

 the adjacent colony will have but one-sixth of the latter, 

 another a few square inches only. In a hive all the large 

 cells are together, in another they are scattered. Some of 

 these drone-combs are built from top to bottom of the hive, 

 others are at the top only, others at the side, or at the bot- 

 tom, or scattered, etc. 



226. These facts, not explainable by themselves, when 

 added to the wonderful habits of bees, have led to the theory 

 that it was with foresight, with x>erfect knowledge and for a 

 special purpose, that bees construct such a varied propor- 

 tion of the two kinds of cells. Bees are represented as 

 knowing the sex of the eggs which each kind of cells will 

 receive ; and foreseeing that their queen may not live long 

 and that the young queens have to be fecundated (120), 

 they build large cells in which drones could be raised. 



227. We have demonstrated (213) that bees construct 

 their cells without any geometrical calculation. We had 

 previously (142) established that the queen does not know 

 the sex of the eggs she is laying, and although regretting 

 to decrease tbe charm with which bees were surrounded by 



