WAX, AND BEE ARCHITECTURE. 



155 



Examining, by a medium power of the microscope, 

 the wax-yielding surfaces, as removed from a bee's 

 body, an appearance is presented not unlike that of 

 B (Plate I.) ; but this is due to an underlying single 

 layer of cells, which, by mutual pressure, are driven 

 into irregular hexagons. After carefully removing the 

 cells just mentioned, I find no evidence of structure 

 in the discs, although, by their character of fracture, 

 they are shown to be double, or to consist of dense 

 faces, with softer material between. The cells, of which 

 there are about 140,000 in the eight glands, when in 

 situ are very closely applied to the external discs 



tmmmmm 



Fig. 34.— Portion of Wax Gland, seen from the Side Bathed by Blood 



(Magnified 800 times). 

 tr, main trachea ; n, nucleus ; o, o, o, oil-like globules. 



(W, Fig. 32), at whose edges they most abruptly ter- 

 minate. They collectively form the true glands, are 

 each about 18 1 00 in. in diameter, and contain a large 

 nucleus and many small granules, the latter occasionally 

 in movement; besides these, some of the cells seem 

 almost filled up with oily-looking globules (0,0,0, Fig. 34); 

 and it is also remarkable, that the part of the surface 

 of each cell which lies next the membrane is raised 

 into numerous minute prominences, needing for their 

 detection careful illumination and the highest order 



