172 
WAX AND COMB CONSTRUCTION 
able to obtain by close clustering. The wax scales 
resemble mica, are transparent, very brittle, of a pale 
yellow, and during comb building they stand out 
beneath the segments, as seen in Fig. 6i. They are 
removed by the pincers on the hind legs described on 
page 36, the bristles piercing the scale (Fig. 63, a), 
and are then transferred to the front legs, and at last 
to the mouth, to be masticated by the jaws (Fig. 63, 
b), with the addition of saliva, which modifies the 
wax and makes it malleable. Dr. de Planta* found 
Fig. 63. — Jaw of Worker and Wax Scale. 
that a considerable quantity of saliva entered into the 
composition of wax used for making the combs which 
he did not find in the scales. 
Huber carried out a series of experiments, which 
he repeated several times, with the result that he 
found, that bees fed on honey and water produced wax, 
while if only fed on pollen, none was produced. He 
also showed that bees fed on sugar syrup were also 
able to produce wax, and that in several consecutive 
trials those receiving syrup made of sugar yielded more 
wax than those fed on honey, brown moist sugar 
yielding the largest quantities. These results were 
* British Bee Journal^ 1883, p. 267. 
