THE WAX MOTH AND ITS CONTROL 5 
hive parts. They are less often observed within the hive, especially 
those with strong colonies, partly because they are very small and 
very active, and partly because they resemble the wax in color. 
The young larvae attempt to burrow into the wax almost imme- 
diately after emergence from the egg. The first burrows are often 
incomplete and may be mere roughenings of the surface of the wax. 
After the first day, however, they make small tunnels between the 
cells and toward the midrib of the comb, in which the typical silken 
strands of the web may be found. 
The growth of the larvae depends upon several factors, of which 
the quantity and quality of food and the temperature are most 
FIGURE 2.—Eeggs of the wax moth laid on a comb. Greatly enlarged. 
important. The length of the larval period, from the time of the 
hatching of the egg until pupation, has been found to range from 
28 days to 4 months or even as long as 140 days or nearly 5 months. 
During this period the large larvae have grown from about one 
twenty-fifth of an inch to seven-eighths of an inch in length. 
The food of the larvae is not confined to beeswax, and it is even 
probable that little pure wax is digested but rather that the larvae 
derive most of their nourishment from the impurities in the wax. 
Foundation, especially in frames, is seldom attacked and then usually 
only by the small larvae. In some cases newly emerged larvae have 
been seen chewing, or attempting to chew, other larvae which had 
been injured. . 
The larvae prefer the darker brood combs to the white extracting 
combs. In the brood combs the larvae confine their work mostly 
to the midrib and bases of the cells, and combs are often found with 
perhaps the outer one-fourth of the length of the cells untouched 
and the central portion, including the midrib, completely destroyed 
and replaced with a mass of web and refuse. Under such conditions 
