26 



MANUAL OF APICULTURE. 



tlie queen lias wax plates on the underside of tlie abdomeu and wax 

 glands beneath them, yet both are less developed than in the workers 

 and are never used. The wax plates of the worker overlying the 

 secreting glands are well shown in fig. 0. those of the queen and of 

 the related genera, Bomhns and MeUpona^ being shown for conq)arison. 

 During wax secretion, that is, when combs are being built or honey 

 cells sealed over, a high temperature is maintained in the hive, and 

 many workers may be seen to have small scales of wax protruding 

 from between the segments of the abdomen on the underside. The 

 molds or i)lates, eight in number, in which the scales appear are con- 

 cealed by the overlapxnng of the abdominal segments, but when 

 exposed to view (fig. 9, a) are seen to be five-sided depressions lined 

 with a transparent membrane. The wax glands themselves are beneath 

 this membrane, and through it the wax comes in a liquid form. As the 

 scales harden they are i)ushed out by the addition of wax beneath. 



Fig. 9. — Wax disks of social bees: o, A])i.s mcllitica worker: J). A. mellifica <|iieen ; r, '>relipoiia "worker; 

 (/, Bombiis woi'kcr — all (■ii]ar;:('(l. (From Insect TJfc.) 



The bees pluck them out with neat pincers (fig. 7, a and h) formed by 

 the articulation of the hind tibia' with the adjacent tarsal joints, pass 

 them forward to the mandibles, and mold them into the shape of hex- 

 agonal cells, meanwhile warming and moistening them with the secre- 

 tions of the head glands to render the wax more pliable. 



Wax is fashioned by the workers into cells of various sizes and shapes, 

 according to the use to be made of them. The most regular in shape 

 and size are the cells designed for brood (fig. 4). These combs in Avhich 

 workers are bred show nearly 29 cells on a square inch of surface, the 

 combs being seven-eighths inch thick and the cells generally quite 

 regular hexagons in outline. Drone cells are larger, there being but 18 

 of them to the square inch of surface, and the comb is 1^ inches thick. 



