COMB. 103 



the imagination of bee-keepers, we will try to demonstrate 

 that, in the building of cells, they simply follow their incli- 

 nation ; as do all other beings, in the acts that they perform. 

 But we have lirst to put forward a few facts, which are gen- 

 erally accepted, on which we will ground our reasoning. 



328. 1st, A swarm (406), hived on empty frames, 

 always begins its constructions by worker or small cells : 



2d, If the queen of a swarm is very proUflc (97), very 

 httle of large, or store-comb, will generally be built by her 

 bees: 



3d, If, on the contrary, from old age, or from some 

 other cause, the fecundity of a queen is deficient (155), 

 her bees will fill the hive with a large quantity of store- 

 combs : 



4th, If the queen of a swarm is removed, or dies while 

 the bees are building, all the combs, made during her ab- 

 sence, will consist of store- cells: 



5tJi, If all or part of the store-combs of a hive are re- 

 moved, the bees will rebuild large cells, at least three times 

 out of four. 



229. Besides these five propositions, we wiU remember 

 that queens prefer to lay in small cells (145), and that they 

 seem to know how to ask the workers to narrow the orifices 

 of the store-cells, when there are no others in the hive to 

 receive their impregnated eggs (146 to 148). 



We have to remark also that, while the queen prefers the 

 narrow cells, the workers prefer to build the wide ones, 

 since they cease to construct worker-cells when the queen is 

 gone, or when she is not on the spot, to remind them, by 

 her presence, that she needs narrow cells for her impregnated 

 eggs (146), and we will find out the cause of such differ- 

 ences, in the number and in the position of each kind of 

 combs, by following the work of the bees, in some of the 

 circumstances in which they may have to build. 



330. (a) The queen of a swarm is very prolific, the crop 



