54 
THE HONEY-MAKERS. 
of construction, thus showing conclusively that 
pollen can enter but slightly into the manufac- 
ture of the wax. 
The first stomach of the working-bee, as al- 
ready stated, is appropriated to the reception of 
honey. It is never found in the second stomach, 
which may be aptly compared to a well- hooped 
cask, as, from one end to the other, it is sur- 
rounded by muscular rings. Within these rings 
the wax is elaborated. The wax-pockets them- 
selves, which are concealed by the overlapping 
of the rings, may be seen by pressing the abdo- 
men of the worker so as to lengthen it, thus sep- 
arating the rings further from each other. 
Sometimes the scales of wax are so large as 
to project beyond the rings, and may be seen 
without separating them as first mentioned. As 
tears in the eye of man, or saliva in the mouth, 
so the wax appears to be secreted in the little 
pouches. 
The formation of wax is the peculiar office of 
the wax-workers, who may be easily distin- 
guished from the nurses by the greater size and 
more cylindrical shape of the abdomen, and their 
