132 INSECT ARCHITECTURE. 



fastened to the window with the spare wax. This 

 being accomplished, the bees removed the horizontal 

 pillars first constructed as being of no further use*.'' 



A similar anecdote is told by M. Huber. " Dur- 

 ing the winter," says he, ''a comb in one of my 

 bell-glass hives, having been originally insecure, fell 

 down, but preserved its position parallel to the rest. 

 The bees were unable to fill*np the vacuity left above 

 it, because they do not build combs of old wax, and 

 none new could be then obtained. At a more favour- 

 able season they would have ingrafted a new comb 

 on the old one ; but now their provision of honey 

 could not be spared for the elaboration of this sub- 

 stance, which induced them to ensure the stability 

 of the comb by another process. 



" Crowds of bees taking wax from the lower part 

 of other combs, and even gnawing it from the sur- 

 face of the orifices of the deepest cells, they con- 

 structed so many irregular pillars, joists, or but- 

 tresses, between the sides of the fallen comb, and 

 others on the glass of the hive. All these were arti- 

 ficially adapted to localities. Neither did they con- 

 fine themselves to repairing the accidents which their 

 works had sustained. They seemed to profit by the 

 warning, to guard against a similar casualty. 



" The remaining combs were not displaced ; there- 

 fore, while solidly adhering by the base, we were 

 greatly surprised to see the bees strengthen their 

 principal fixtures with old wax. They rendered 

 them much thicker than before, and iabricated a 

 number of new connexions, to unite them more 

 firmly to each other, and to the sides of their dwelling. 

 All this passed in the middle of January, a time that 

 these insects commonly keep in the upper part o? 

 their hive, and when work is no longer scasonablet-" 



M. Huber the younger shrewdly remarks, that 



* Bevan on Bees, p. 326. f Huber on Bees, p. 416, 



