72 miner's AMERICAN 



having in the meantime laid an egg, The egg itself, 

 which is attached to the bottom of the cell, by a gluti- 

 nous matter, with which it is imbued, is of a slender, 

 oval shape, slightly curved, rather more pointed in the 

 lower end than in the other." 



TIME THAT EGGS REMAIN IN THE CELL. 



The egg remains three days before it bursts its integu- 

 ment, and becomes a worm, or larva ; that is, in natural 

 heat of from 60 to 70 degrees of Fahrenheit, and in 

 colder circumstances the time may be prolonged, even 

 to a perfect suspension of vitality for a long period ; and 

 then, on being subjected to the usual heat, the develop- 

 ment takes place in the natural way. 



LARVAE HOW LONG FED WHEN SEALED OVER, ETC. 



After the hatching of the eggs, which is effected solely 

 by the natural heat of the bees in the hive, generated 

 by the workers, the larvae are fed from four to six days, 

 according to the heat within the hive, and the cells are 

 then sealed over by the workers, by making numerous 

 rings of wax, commencing at the outside, and finishing 

 at the centre. When the larvae are sealed over, they 

 commence weaving around themselves a cocoon, or 

 shroud, which requires about thirty-six hours, and from 

 this period until their perfect development, they are called 

 pupa, nymphs, or chrysalis. The covering, or seals of 

 drone-cells are quite convex, resembling a half pea in 

 rotundity. The convexity of worker-cells is much less, 

 — almost flat ; and the seals of honey-cells are concave ; 

 curving inwardly. 



