. British bee-keeper's guide book to the management of bees in movable-comb hives, and the use of modern bee-appliances. Illustrated. Bee culture. NATURAL HISTORY OF BEES. 15 Wax is a secretion, produced in the body of the bee, not gathered (Fig. 6). It has been estimated that from 13 to 20 lbs. of honey are consumed in producing a pound of wax. The weight of empty comb required to fill an ordinary-sized hive is about v 2 lbs. ; so that, taking into con- sideration the time lost by the bees while building comb, which might be otherwise employed in gathering honey, it would make each pound of w
. British bee-keeper's guide book to the management of bees in movable-comb hives, and the use of modern bee-appliances. Illustrated. Bee culture. NATURAL HISTORY OF BEES. 15 Wax is a secretion, produced in the body of the bee, not gathered (Fig. 6). It has been estimated that from 13 to 20 lbs. of honey are consumed in producing a pound of wax. The weight of empty comb required to fill an ordinary-sized hive is about v 2 lbs. ; so that, taking into con- sideration the time lost by the bees while building comb, which might be otherwise employed in gathering honey, it would make each pound of wax equivalent to between 17 and 25 lbs. of honey. From these figures the bee-keeper can judge the value to him of good combs,* and the importance of preserving them for future and continuous use. Pollen is the fertilising dust of flowers, gathered by bees, and after being by them moulded into ball- Yi<y. 6 Wax Scales shape, is borne on their hind-legs on abdomen of to the hive, and afterwards used Worker-bee. by them in the preparation of food for the nourishment of the young grubs. A small portion of pollen is also used by the mature bees, along with their principal food of honey, and for mixing with the wax used for queen-cells and the capping of brood- cells. Pollen not required for immediate use Is closely packed in the worker-cells for future need, and for . preservation is often covered with honey, and capped over with wax. Propolis is a resin-like substance obtained from buds and limbs of trees, especially from the horse- chestnut and the different kinds of pine. It is carried, * Experiments of M. de Layens show that under certain conditions bses may consume as little as lbs. of honey to produce i lb. of % Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Cowan, T. W. (Thomas William), 1840-
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Keywords: ., bookautho, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectbeeculture
