794 A P 
bottom of the cell by the fmall end, the only part which 
fee ms to touch it. In a day or two after being placed 
there, it produces a worm, which the working bees take 
care to fupply with fuitable food, confiding of a whitifii 
liquor, which lerves it at once for lubfiflence and a bed ; 
for it lies upon it, folded up like a ring. In the fpace 
of fix or feven days more, the whole of its growth is 
completed ; and the bees, who know the time at which 
it no longer needs to be fupplied with food, ceafe to 
carry it any more. The lad office which they render it, 
is doling up the mouth of the cell, which is done with 
wax. In the mean time, the young animal within, which 
'llithei'to was almod entirely inactive, begins to fpin filk, 
and line the infide of its habitation, as a preparative to 
its entering into the chryfalis date, in which, for a while, 
it remains. Thus, in the fpace of about three weeks af¬ 
ter it was fird dropped into the cell, tire young bee is 
ready to make its appearance as a winged animal. The 
fird employment, after it has arrived at that period, is to 
gnaw off tiie wax with which the mouth cf its cell had 
been Hopped up. On its fird ilfuing from the cell, the 
■whole body is wet with the humid fubdance of the cell ; 
but the affectionate bees flock around, and with their 
trunks affifl in wiping off the moidure. The, wings grow 
dry, and the limbs firm ; and, in the courfe of the fame 
day, it iffues forth with the labourers to colled wax and 
honey, and thereby to make returns to the fociety for the 
care with which it has been reared. 
Thus, after the commencement of fummer, the num¬ 
ber of bees daily continues to increafe, till, by the month 
of June, they have become fo numerous, that the fame 
hive can no longer contain them. The only meafure which 
then remains to be adopted, is to divide ; and in an indant, 
a large colony prepares to abandon for ever the place of 
their nativity, and to follow a young queen in forming a 
new edablifinnent for themfelves. It is not merely the 
number of bees in a hive that determines them to fvvarm ; 
that event depends upon the young female, who mud 
not only be fufficiently drong to lead the colony, but 
mud alfo be impregnated; for upon that circumdance 
depends the whole hopes of the future progeny: But 
no i'ooner do all tliefe predifpofing circumdances con¬ 
cur in a hive, than it prepares immediately for colonifa- 
tion. In the evening before that eventful period, indi¬ 
cation of their intention is given, by an unufual noife and 
hurry within the hive. All the morning of the next day 
pades without hardly a fingle bee going to collet! honey. 
Thole who are to leave the hive are preparing to take 
their departure ; while thole that remain behind defer 
their operations, till their companions, by their leaving 
them, have afforded fufficient room. It is in the great 
enterprife of colonifation that the influence of tlie^queen 
bee is mod clearly feen. Wherever die alights, there the 
whole lwarm take up their abode, and all cling round her 
body. If fhe is removed, they all fly in queft of her : 
if put into a hive where fhe is not placed, they either 
iorlake it or die. Hence the art of thofe perfons is ex¬ 
plained, who go about Ihewing bees, making them alight 
on different parts of their body, and follow them for any 
length of time. They have poHellion of the queen-bee ; 
and by that means can influence the movements of all 
the others. When a fvvarm thus migrates from the pa¬ 
rent hive, it frequently happens that more than one fe¬ 
male accompanies it. The profperity, however, of the 
new colony requires that there fliould be but one ; one 
only is accordingly preferved. In a fingle day, all the 
red are put to death ; and it is found that the one which 
is fpared is the bell entitled to reign, becatife die is mod 
fertile, or neared her period of giving a new progeny to 
t.he fociety. The young females in the old hive, if any 
remain there, (hare not a more happy dediny ; all the fu- 
pemumeraries, like thofe in the fvvarm, are put to death. 
When the bees begin to work in their hives, they divide 
themfelves into four companies: one of which roves in 
the fields in fearch of muteiials; another employs itielf 
I s. 
in laying out the bottom and partitions of the cells; a 
third is employed in making the intide fmooth, from the 
corners and angles; and the fourth company brings food 
for the red, or relieves thofe who return with their refpect- 
ive burdens. But they are not kept condant to one em¬ 
ployment ; they often change the talks affigned them: 
thofe that have been at work, being permitted to go 
abroad ; and thofe that have been in the fields already, take 
their places. They feem even to have figns, by which 
they underdand each other: for, when any of them want 
food, it bends down its trunk to the bee from whom it is 
expected, which then opens its honey-bag, and lets lome 
drops fall into the other’s mouth, which is at that time 
open to receive it. Their diligence and labour is fo great, 
that, in a day’s time, they are able to make cells which 
lie upon each other numerous enough to contain 300a 
bees. In the plan and formation of thefe cells they dif- 
cover a mod wonderful fagacity. In condaffting"habi¬ 
tations within a limited compafs, an architect would have 
three objects in view: fird, to life the fmalled quantity 
that can be of materials; next, to give to the edifice the 
greated capacity in a determined (pace; and thirdly, to 
employ the fpot in Inch a manner that none of it may be 
lod. On examination, it will be found that the bees have 
obtained all thefe advantages in the hexagonal form of 
their cells: for, fird, there is an economy of wax, as the 
circumference of one cell makes part of the circumferen¬ 
ces of thofe contiguous to it; iecondly, the economy of 
the fpot, as thofe cells which join to one another leave no 
void between them; and thirdly, the greated capacity or 
fpace; as, of all the figures which can be contiguous, that 
with fix fides gives the larged area. This thriftinefs- 
prompts them to make the partitions of their cells thin j 
yet they are conflruCted fo as that the folidity may com- 
penfate for the fcantinefs of materials. The parts mod 
liable to injury are the entrance of the cells. Thefe the 
bees take care to drengthen, by adding quite round the 
circumference of the apertures a fillet of wax, by which 
means this mouth is three or four times thicker than the 
fides: and they are drengthened at the bottom by the an¬ 
gle formed by the bottom of three cells falling in the mid¬ 
dle of an oppolite cell. The combs lie parallel to each 
other ; and there is left between every one of them a Ipace 
which ferves as a dreet, broad enough for two bees to pafs 
by each other. There are holes which go quite through 
tile combs, and ferve as lanes for the bees to pals from 
one comb to another, without being obliged to go a great 
way about. When they begin their combs, they form at 
the top of the hive a root or day to the whole edifice, 
which is to hang from it. 
It is not eafy to difeover the particular manner of their 
working; for, notwithdanding the many contrivancesufed 
for this purpofe, there are fuch numbers in continual mo¬ 
tion, and fucceed one another with fuch rapidity, that no¬ 
thing but confufion appears to the light. Some of them, 
however, have been obferved carrying pieces of wax in 
their talons, and running to the places where they are at 
work upon the combs. Thefe they faden to the work by 
means of the fame talons. Each bee is employed but a 
very fiiort time in this way : but there is fo great a num¬ 
ber of them that go on in condant fuccedion, that the comb 
increafes very perceptibly. Befides thefe, there are others 
that run about beating the work with their wings and the 
hinder part of their body, probably with-a view to make it 
more firm and folid. 
The crude wax, when brought home by the bees to form 
their cells, is of as different colours as are the flowers from 
which it is collected: but the new combs are always of a 
white colour, which is afterwards changed only by the 
impurities arifmg from the fleam, &c. of the bees. They 
likewife colleCt crude wax for food; for, if thiswere not 
the cafe, there would be no want of wax after the combs 
are made: but they are obferved, even in old hives, to- 
return in great numbers loaded with fuch matter, which 
is depofited in particular cells, and is known by the name 
