234 
INSTINCT. 
Chap. YIL 
are consumed by a hive of bees for the secretion of each 
pound of wax; to that a prodigious quantity of fluid nectar 
must be collected and consumed by the bees in a hive for 
the secretion of the wax necessary for the construction of 
their combs. Moreover, many bees have to remain idle 
for many days during the process of secretion. A large 
store of honey is indispensable to support a large stock 
of bees during the winter; and the security of the hive 
is known mainly to depend on a large number of bees 
being supported. Hence the saving of wax by largely 
saving honey must be a most important element of suc¬ 
cess in any family of bees. Of course the success of any 
species of bee may be dependent on the number of its 
parasites or other enemies, or on quite distinct causes, 
and so be altogether independent of the quantity of 
honey which the bees could collect. But let us suppose 
that this latter circumstance determined, as it probably 
often does determine, the numbers of a humble-bee which 
could exist in a country; and let us further suppose 
that the community lived throughout the winter, and con¬ 
sequently required a store of honey: there can in this 
case be no doubt that it would be an advantage to our 
humble-bee, if a slight modification of her instinct led 
her to make her waxen cells near together, so as to 
intersect a little; for a wall in common even to two 
adjoining cells, would save some little wax. Hence it 
would continually be more and more advantageous to 
our humble-bee, if she were to make her cells more and 
more regular, nearer together, and aggregated into a 
mass, like the cells of the Melipona; for in this case 
a large part of the bounding surface of each cell would 
serve to bound other cells, and much wax would be 
saved. Again, from the same cause, it would be ad¬ 
vantageous to the Melipona, if she were to make her 
cells closer together, and more regular in every way 
