234 INSTINCT. Chap. VII. 



the secretion of the wax necessary for the construction of 

 their combs. Moreover, many bees have to remain idle 

 for many days during the process of secretion. A large 

 store of honey is indispensable to support a large stock 

 of bees during the winter ; and the security of the hive 

 is known mainly to depend on a large number of bees 

 being supported. Hence the saving of wax by largely 

 saving honey must be a most important element of suc- 

 cess in any family of bees. Of course the success of any 

 species of bee may be dependent on the number of its 

 parasites or other enemies, or on quite distinct causes, 

 and so be altogether independent of the quantity of 

 honey which the bees could collect. But let us suppose 

 that this latter circumstance determined, as it probably 

 often does determine, the numbers of a humble-bee which 

 could exist in a country ; and let us further suppose 

 that the community lived throughout the winter, and con- 

 sequently required a store of honey : there can in this 

 case be no doubt that it would be an advantage to our 

 humble-bee, if a slight modification of her instinct led 

 her to make her waxen cells near together, so as to 

 intersect a little; for a wall in common even to two 

 adjoining cells, would save some little wax. Hence it 

 would continually be more and more advantageous to 

 our humble-bee, if she were to make her cells more and 

 more regular, nearer together, and aggregated into a 

 mass, like the cells of the Melipona; for in this case 

 a large part of the bounding surface of each cell would 

 serve to bound other cells, and much wax would be 

 saved. Again, from the same cause, it would be 

 advantageous to the Melipona, if she were to make her 

 cells closer together, and more regular in every way 

 than at present ; for then, as we have seen, the 

 spherical surfaces would wholly disappear, and would 

 all be replaced by plane surfaces; and the Melipona 



