645 
1883J Origin of the Cells of the Hive Bee. 
As the bees press forwards the heads, as they meet, must 
always make way for each other in the direction of the least 
resistance, — that is, in a newly-begun comb a bee on one 
side is pressed downwards by its two competitors so as to 
come with its head exactly in the middle between three who 
stand opposite. As each bee on the one side presses with 
its head into the space between the three coming to meet 
her there is formed, by the pressure to which the soft wax 
is exposed, the middle plate so much admired on account of 
its “ highest purposiveness.” The pyramids of Maraldi are 
merely Plateau’s equilibrium figures extended between the 
terminations of the sides of the prisms just commenced ! 
The “ instinct ” which the bees display is very simple ; 
they press on with their wax upwards and forwards in two 
perpendicular layers. Of a skilful treatment of the wax 
there is no trace. The Maraldi pyramids are formed purely 
on physical principles, not by the conscious activity of the 
architects. The form of the head of the bee has no mean- 
ing as far as the shape of the bottom of the cell is concerned, 
since, in consequence of the high temperature produced by 
the respiration of the bees and the continual pressure, the 
wax is plastic in a high degree. 
In an analogous manner the sides of the prism are also 
produced by the pressure which the cylindrical body of each 
bee undergoes from the six bees arranged around her on the 
same side of the comb. The process is exactly as when 
cylinders of equal thickness are formed into six-sided prisms 
by an equal pressure. 
It appears that the procedure of each single bee is exactly 
the same as if she wished to construct a hollow cylinder. 
In fact, if we give them a thick cake of wax they bite and 
press in it round holes. When they work with an excess of 
material, as is often the case in the cells of drones, each 
single cell is a cylinder with a hemispherical bottom. If in 
such cells, which resemble test-tubes, the excessive substance 
is removed, the walls both of the prisms and the pyramids 
gradually take the usual form. 
On an examination of a royal cell it appears, also, that 
the individual bee understands merely how to construct a 
hollow cylinder with a hemispherical depression at the end. 
The faft that the bees frequently, and without any per- 
ceptible order, gnaw holes into the outer wall of the thick 
mass of wax of a royal cell, which naturally turn out hemi- 
spherical as the counter-pressure on the opposite side is 
wanting, shows that their artistic skill does not take a high 
rank. 
