A bee then drew out a thread from the viscid mass; it then cut it off with its teeth, and laid hold of it with the claw of one of its feet. Thus equipped, the insect was seen to enter one of the cells which had been but just formed. The object of this manoeuvre was soon apparent; when the insect came out, one of the angles formed by the junction of two of the six sides forming the cell, was found lined and soldered with propolis. The process was regularly repeated, until all the angles had been lined and secured in a similar manner; not indeed by the same bee, but by others which shared in this labour. Having finished one cell, they proceeded to another, until all the cells destined for the young had been thus soldered and strengthened.

Propolis is the substance used in all cases in which strength and solidity are required. It is well known that the habitation of bees ought to be very close; if it contained any cracks or unstopped crevices, other insects might enter the hive, or the rain might penetrate into the interior, which would be attended with fatal consequences. Any deficiencies in these respects, which may arise either from the unskilfulness or negligence of man, the insects supply by their own industry; so that when they take possession of a new habitation, their first and principal care is to close up all crannies with propolis. When the bees begin to work with this substance it is soft, but every day it acquires a firmer consistence; until at length it assumes a brown colour, and becomes much harder than wax.

When the foundations of the combs are laid, the first row of cells differs from the succeeding ones in

that it is composed of five instead of six sides: the fifth or broadest being the side or base by which the comb was suspended from the roof of the hive. As long as the cells are but few in number, and not overloaded with honey, this pentagonal row is sufficiently strong to support the comb; but when the wants of the hive render it necessary to construct more cells and increase the stock of honey, their instinct informs the bees, that the foundations of the comb are not sufficiently strong to support the increased weight. Accordingly, they are seen, in a sort of fury, to fall upon and destroy the pentagonal cells, and, for the wax with which they were originally constructed, to substitute a composition of propolis and wax. This substance was, by the ancients, termed pissoceros. The tenacity and strength of this material render the foundations of the combs perfectly secure, and relieve the bees from all subsequent anxiety on that account. The ingenuity evinced by the bees in the performance of this task, is no less worthy of admiration, than the sagacity which enables them to find out its necessity. It is evident that, if the first row of cells were removed at once, the comb itself would fall; since it is attached to the roof of the hive by means of this row. In order to guard against this danger, the bees work at alternate sides of the comb; they remove first one portion of the old comb, substituting for the brittle wax, the strong and tenacious cement called pissoceros, before they touch the other.

Among other virtues possessed by bees, cleanliness is one of the most marked; they will not suffer the least filth in their abode. It sometimes happens that an ill-advised slug or ignorant snail chooses to

VOL. I.

E

enter the hive, and has even the audacity to walk over the comb; the presumptuous and foul intruder is quickly killed, but its gigantic carcase is not so speedily removed. Unable to transport the corpse out of their dwelling, and fearing "the noxious smells" arising from corruption, the bees adopt an efficacious mode of protecting themselves; they embalm their offensive enemy, by covering him over with propolis; both Maraldi and Reaumur have seen this. The latter observed that a snail had entered a hive, and fixed itself to the glass side, just as it does against walls, until the rain shall invite it to thrust out its head beyond its shell. The bees, it seemed, did not like the interloper, and not being able to penetrate the shell with their sting, took a hint from the snail itself, and instead of covering it all over with propolis, the cunning economists fixed it immoveably, by cementing merely the edge of the orifice of the shell to the glass with this resin, and thus it became a prisoner for life, for rain cannot dissolve this cement, as it does that which the insect itself

uses.

*

* When they expel their excrements, they go apart that they may not defile their companions; and in winter, when prevented by extreme cold, or the injudicious practice of wholly closing the hive, from going out for this purpose, their bodies sometimes become so swelled from the accumulation of fæces, that when at last able to go out, they cannot fly, and falling on the ground in the attempt, they perish with cold, the sacrifice of personal neatness.-Kirby, vol. ii. p. 200.

CHAPTER IV.

THE HIVE BEE.

Fertility of Queen Bee-Swarming-Ventilation of the Hive —Irascibility—Duels-Robberies-Defences of Bees.

As spring advances, the losses which the hive has sustained in the autumn and winter are repaired. The fertility of the queen-mother is prodigious. Schirach says, that in the course of one season, a single female will lay from 70,000 to 100,000 eggs. Huber and Reaumur's estimate is not so high; but the lowest is very considerable: hence the habitation is soon overpeopled, and it becomes necessary, therefore, that thousands should quit their homes, and lay the foundation of another kingdom. This expatriation is not confined to the young brood, who have not as yet laboured, but the old, they who with infinite travail had already constructed one city, voluntarily leave all they have done, to begin life again.

About the time when the queen lays royal eggs, the workers make preparation for the male insects; consequently, males and females appear about the same period, when providence has covered the surface of the earth with the flowers from which the young bee may collect its food. The same kind hand has appointed the autumn, when the fruit is ripe, for the birth-time of the young wasp.

Sometimes there are as many as twenty royal cells, each of which contains a queen. The natural hatred subsisting between female bees has been mentioned, but this passion, apparently so vile and injurious, is the means by which the species is saved, and its instinctive habits perpetuated. While the metamorphosis of the young queens is proceeding, each cell is sedulously surrounded with a guard.

As soon as the worm is transformed into a nymph, and not before, the old queen becomes infuriated. She rushes towards the royal cells, and instantly begins to tear them open. The guards make way for her, and allow her to do what she pleases. As the cells, however, are considerably thicker than those of the common bee, she soon exhausts herself by her labour, and generally, after she has opened one or two of them, and most barbarously murdered her own offspring, she languidly attempts to gnaw at a third. The sight of these cells agitates her to such a degree, that she runs about the hive in a state of delirium. This excitement she soon communicates to the workers by touching their antennæ, and, after scampering about in all directions, a great portion of them, accompanied with their old queen, rush out of the hive to seek another home. In every instance it is the old queen which leads the first swarm. Experience enables the apiarists to foretel this event: for, on the evening previous to swarming, the bees often suddenly leave off their labours, as if aware of the approaching change; while a few scouts are sent out in search of a spot fit to receive the new colony. Something very like concerted action and foresight is evident in these proceedings. But, after every pre