BEE CULTURE, 21 
London, in his work on the “Transformation of Insects,” 
remarks as follows on this intcresting subject : 
“The production of wax is one of the most remarkable 
physiological phenomena of the organization of these Z[y- 
menoptera. It was generally thought, formerly, that the 
bees disgorged their wax from the mouth, and Réaumur 
certainly held this opinion ; but John Hunter discovered the 
manner in which the wax was formed ; and it is now evident 
that the bees carry within themselves this important building 
material. The segments of the abdomen of bees overlap 
from before backwards, but when the margin of one is lifted 
up, two broad and smooth surfaces will be noticed on the 
uncovered surface of the next wing ; these surfaces maintain 
during one part of the year two thin, white, and almost trans- 
parent laminze, which are really composed of wax. The wax 
is really secreted by some small glands which are within the 
abdomen, and it transludes through the soft and smooth 
integument between the rings or segments. It would appear 
that the sugary matters which are sucked and digested by 
the bees are to a great extent transformed into wax, which 
is to all intents and purposes a sort of fat.” 
A writer in Seribner’s Monthly thus describes the manner 
of comb building in a new swarm : 
“When a swarm of bees is about to leave its old home 
and seek another, each bee fills itself with honey. After 
entering their new home, the gorged bees suspend themselves 
in festoons, hanging from the top of the hive. They hang 
motionless for about 24 hours. During this time the honey 
has been digested and converted into a peculiar animal oil, 
which collects itself in scales or laminze beneath the abdomi- 
nal rings. This is the wax. One of the workers, called the 
founder, then draws from its own body, by means of its 
clawed foot, a seale of wax. This it breaks down and crum- 
bles, and works with its mouth and mandibles till it becomes 
pliable; and it then issues from the mouth in the form ofa 
long, narrow ribbon, made white and soft by an admixture of 
saliva from the tongue. Meanwhile the other bees are 
making ready their material in the same way. On the ceiling 
of the hive an inverted, solid arch of wax is built, and from 
this the first foundation cells are excavated, all the subse- 
