o 



52 SPECIAL INSTINCTS. [Chap. Till. 



As natural selection acts only by the accumulation 

 of slight modifications of structure or instinct, each 

 profitable to the individual under its conditions of life, 

 it mar reasonably be asked, how a Ions and graduated 

 succession of modified architectural instincts, all tending 

 towards the present perfect plan of construction, could 

 have profited the progenitors of the hive-bee ? I think 

 the answer is not difficult : cells constructed like those of 

 the bee or the wasp gain in strength, and save much in 

 labour and space, and in the materials of which they are 

 constructed. "With respect to the formation of wax, it 

 is known that bees are often hard pressed to get suffi- 

 cient nectar, and I am informed by Mr. Tegetmeier that 

 it has been experimentally proved that from twelve to 

 fifteen pounds of dry sugar are consumed by a hive of bees 

 for the secretion of a pound of wax ; so that a prodigious 

 quantity of fluid nectar must be collected and consumed 

 by the bees in a hive for the secretion of the wax 

 necessary for the construction of their combs. More- 

 over, 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 and 

 the time consumed in collecting the honey must be an 

 important element of success to any family of bees. Of 

 course the success of the species may be dependent on 

 the number of its enemies, or parasites, or on quite 

 distinct causes, and so be altogether independent of the 

 quantity of honev which the bees can collect. But let 

 us suppose that this latter circumstance determined, as 

 it probably often has determined, whether a bee allied 



