APIS. 
cell, often three or four of them, sometimes 
more ; I have seen eleven, and even thirteen 
in the same hive ; commonly they are placed 
on the edge of one or more of the combs, 
but often on the side of a comb ; however, 
not in the centre along with the other cells, 
like a large one placed among the others, 
but often against the mouths of the cells, 
and projecting sut beyond the common sur- 
face of the comb ; but most of them are 
formed from the edge of the comb, which 
terminates in one of these cells. The royal 
cell is much wider than the others, but sel- 
dom so deep : its mouth is round, and ap- 
pears to be the largest half of an oval in 
depth, and is declining downwards, instead 
of being horizontal or lateral. The materials 
of which it is composed are softer'than com- 
mon wax, rather like the last mentioned, or 
those of which the lower edge of the plate 
of comb is made, or with which the bees 
cover the chrysalis : they have very little 
wax in their composition, not one third, the 
rest I conceive to be farina. 
“ The comb seems at first to be formed 
for propagation, and the reception of honey 
to he only a secondary use ; for if the bees 
lose their queen they make no combs ; and 
the wasp, hornet, &c. make combs although 
they collect no honey ; and the humble-bee 
collects honey, and deposits it in cells she 
never made. 
“I shall not consider the bee as an excel- 
lent mathematician, capable of making exact 
forms, and having reasoned upon the best 
shape of the ceil for capacity, so that the 
greatest number might be put into the 
smallest space (for the hornet and the wasp 
are much more correct, although not seem- 
ingly under the same necessity, as they col- 
lect nothing to occupy their cells); because, 
although the bee is pretty perfect in these 
respects, yet it is very incorrect in others, 
in the formation of the comb : nor stall I 
consider these animals as forming combs of 
certain shape and size, from mere mechani- 
cal necessity, as from working round them- 
selves; for such a mould would not form 
cells of different sizes, much less could wasps 
be guided by the same principle, as their 
cells are of very different sizes, and the first 
by muehtoo small for the queen wasp to have 
worked round herself : but I shall consider 
the whole as an instinctive principle, in 
which the animal has no power of variation 
or choice, but such as arises from what may 
be called external necessity. The cell has 
in common six sides, but this is most correct 
in those first formed; and the bottom is 
VOL. L 
commonly composed of those sides or 
planes, two of the sides making one; and 
they generally fall in between the bottoms 
of three cells of the opposite side ; but this 
is not regular, it is only to be found where 
there is no external interruption. 
“ As soon as a few combs are formed, the 
female bee begins laying of eggs. As far as 
I have been able to observe, the queen is 
the only bee that propagates, although it is 
asserted that the labourers do. Her first 
eggs in the season are those which produce 
labourers; then the males, and probably 
the queen ; this is the progress in the wasp, 
hornet, humble bee, &c. However, it is 
asserted by Riem, that when a hive is de- 
prived of a queen, labourers lay eggs ; also, 
that at this time some honey and farina ate 
brought in, as store for a wet day. The 
eggs are laid at the bottom of the cell, and 
we find them there before the cells are half 
completed, so that propagation begins early, 
and goes on along with the formation of the 
other cells. The egg is attached at one end 
to the bottom of the cell, sometimes stand- 
ing perpendicularly, often obliquely y it has 
a glutinous, or slimy covering, which makes 
it stick to any thing it touches. It would 
appear that there was a period or periods 
for laying eggs; for I have observed in a 
new swarm that the great business of laying 
eggs did not last above a fortnight ; although 
the hive was not half filled with comb, it 
began to slacken. In those new formed 
combs, as also in many not half finished, we 
find the substance called bee-bread, and 
some of it is covered over with wax, which 
will be considered further. By the time 
they have worked above half way down the 
hive with the comb, they are beginning to 
form for the larger cells, and by this time the 
first broods are hatched, which were small, 
or labourers ; and now they begin to breed 
males, and probably a queen, for a new 
swarm ; because the males arc now bred to 
impregnate the young queen for the present 
summer as also for the next year. This pro^ 
gress in breeding is the same with that of 
the .wasp, hornet, and bumble bee. Al- 
though this account is commonly allowed, 
yet writers on tins subject have supposed 
another mode of producing a queen when 
the hive is in possession of maggots, and 
deprived of their queen. 
“ What may be called the complete pro- 
cess of the egg, namely, from the time of 
laying to the birth of the bee, (that is, the 
time of hatching) the life of the maggot, and 
the life of the chrysalis, is, I believe, shorter 
T 
