COMB BUILDING. 
27 
The cells of combs designed only for honey are frequently more irreg- 
ular in shape, generally curve upward somewhat, and are often deep 
ened as the houey is stored in them, so that these combs sometimes 
reach a thickness of 2 or 3 inches. 
The cells in which queens are bred bear iu size and shape some 
resemblauce to a ground or pea nut. They are often irregular in form, 
being sometimes curved, or short and thick, according to the space 
below their point of attachment, which is most frequently the lower 
edge or the side edge of a comb, or sometimes a mere projection or 
angularity in the general surface of a comb. Queen cells open down- 
ward instead of being built horizontally like drone and worker cells 
(figs. 62 and 63). 
Into the material used in constructing brood combs bees often incor- 
porate bits of wax and fiber-like gnawings of cocoons from old combs 
in which brood has been reared, and if given cappings or trimmings of 
combs they will work them all over and utilize most of the material. 
Fig. 10. — Comb building — side of hive removed. (Original.) 
Also when the bees have abundant supplies of pollen much of this is 
incorporated into the material of brood combs, thus saving the costlier 
substance — wax. Such combs show at once by their brownish or straw 
color, even when first constructed, that they are not made of wax 
alone. It will readily be seen from the above that the quantity of 
honey consumed by the bees in producing a pound of comb must vary 
greatly, for if the comb is designed for surplus honey it will be made 
of newly secreted wax, while if for brood other material will, as just 
stated, replace a portion of the wax. The amount of honey coining in 
varies from day to day, and it is difficult to estimate how much is con- 
sumed in feeding and keeping warm the brood: moreover, a high tem- 
perature is required in the hive to facilitate the secretion and working 
of wax, necessitating, of course, extra food consumption when the out- 
