. The honey bee; its natural history, physiology, and management. n of the perfect regularity in thecell-work of a honey-comb ;—particular circum-stances, however, induce a departure from thisexactness: for instance, where bees have com-menced a comb with small cell-work, and after-wards wish to attach to it a set of large cells, asin the case of drone-cells being required to beappended to workers-cells. These deviationsfrom the usual regularity renew our admirationof bee-ingenuity, though Reaumur and Bonnethave regarded them as examples of efiect their object by interposing
. The honey bee; its natural history, physiology, and management. n of the perfect regularity in thecell-work of a honey-comb ;—particular circum-stances, however, induce a departure from thisexactness: for instance, where bees have com-menced a comb with small cell-work, and after-wards wish to attach to it a set of large cells, asin the case of drone-cells being required to beappended to workers-cells. These deviationsfrom the usual regularity renew our admirationof bee-ingenuity, though Reaumur and Bonnethave regarded them as examples of efiect their object by interposing three orfour series of, what may be called, cells of transi- ARCHITECTURE OF BEES. 353 tion, the bottoms or bases of which are composedof two rhombs and two hexagons, instead of threerhombs; the rhombs and hexagons graduallyvarying in form and relative proportion, till therequisite size, namely that of the cells which theyare approaching, has been attained. The followingoutlines will serve to convey to the reader theregular steps in this progressive The same gradation is observed when returningto smaller cells. Every apparent irregularity istherefore determined by a sufficient motive, andforms no impeachment of the sagacity of thebee. The commonbreeding-cellsof drones or workersare, occasionally, (after being cleaned,) made thedepositories of honey; but the cells are never madeso clean, as to preserve the honey undeteriorated. 354 ARCHITECTURE OF BEES. The finest honey is stored in new cells, constructedfor the purpose of receiving it, their configurationresembling precisely the common breeding-cells :these honey-cells vary in size, being made moreor less capacious, according to the productivenessof the sources from which the bees are collecting,and according to the season of the year : the cellsformed in July and August vary in their dimen-sions from those that are formed earlier; beingintended for honey only, they are larger anddeeper, the texture of their walls
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookidho, booksubjectbeeculture, booksubjectbees
