342 
BRITISH BEES. 
the processes previously noticed. The community is 
already large, and all are at once in active operation, but 
four-and-twenty hours must elapse before the cells can 
be commenced, for it takes that time to secrete the first 
batch of wax. Festoons, as before described, of these 
wax secreters are hanging in every direction within the 
cavity of the hive, and as soon as the process is com¬ 
pleted by the first festoon, this dissolves itself by the se¬ 
veral bees unlinking their feet, and a leading bee proceeds 
to the top of the centre of the hive, where she makes 
herself room from the lateral pressure of other bees, by 
turning herself sharply about and agitating her wings, 
and there she collects the scales from the surface of her 
ventral segments, manipulates them as before noticed, 
and thus converts them into wax. The rest follow her, 
and she collects it from them into a little oblong mass of 
about half an inch ; whilst other bees from other festoons 
are continually arriving to deposit their produce; and as 
soon as the mass is sufficiently large, which is speedily the 
case, a sculpturer bee succeeds, and the first cell is late¬ 
rally commenced. On the opposite side to where this 
is being framed, two other bees are at work, moulding 
the bottoms of two cells in apposition to the basis of the 
first one. The wax keeps constantly increasing by fresh 
deposits, and the rudiments of more cells are as rapidly 
formed. These all emanate laterally, in a horizontal 
direction or with a very slight incline towards their base. 
They gradually form the vertical cake of comb, for the 
bottom of one entire range of cells suffices for both 
sides and inevitably they are so adjusted that the bot¬ 
toms of those on either side are each covered bv one- 
third of the bottoms of each cell on the opposite side, 
and so conversely, receiving and communicating strength 
