As each for the good of the whole is bent,
And stores up its treasure for all,
We hope for an evening with hearts content,
For the winter of life, without lament
That summer is gone, with its hours misspent,
And the harvest is past recall!
Wax and Combs.—The material of which the combs are so curiously formed is wax, secreted by the bees themselves, and not any substance directly conveyed into the hive, as is generally, but erroneously, supposed. Its component parts are carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen. To enable them to form this secretion, the workers must have access to honey or some other saccharine matter; and this is the first thing sought by a new colony. The quantity required is very great, it being estimated that thirteen to twenty pounds are necessary to make one pound of wax. The common opinion is, that the substance often seen adhering so abundantly to the legs of bees is wax, and as such is the basis of the combs. Has it never appeared strange to the observer of a new swarm, that at the time when comb-building is proceeding more rapidly than at any other period, the bees are loaded with but little of this substance? On the other hand, is it not equally clear, that in the early spring, when few or no combs are constructed, they carry it into the hive with the utmost avidity? “To see the wax-pockets in the hive-bee,” observes Kirby and Spence, “you must press the abdomen, so as to cause its distension; you will then find on each of the four intermediate ventral segments, separated by the carina or elevated central part, two trapeziform whitish pockets, of a soft membranaceous texture; on these the laminæ of wax are formed, in different states, more or less perceptible.” "Whenever combs are wanted," says Dr. Bevan, "bees fill their crops with honey, and, retaining it in them, hang together in a cluster from the top of the hive, and remain apparently in a state of profound inactivity about twenty-four hours. During this time, the wax is secreted, and may be seen in laminæ, under the abdominal scales, whence it is removed by the hind legs of the bee, and transferred to the fore legs; from them it is taken by the jaws, and after being masticated, the fabrication of comb commences." An extraordinary degree of heat always accompanies comb-building, supplied no doubt by the large quantity of oxygen at that time generated.
“In the height of the honey season,” Dr. Dunbar observes, “in one day the bees will construct no fewer than 4000 cells. The whole structure is so delicately thin, that three or four of their sides, placed upon one another, have no more thickness than a leaf of common paper.” The best authorities have estimated that about half a pound of wax is yielded to fifteen pounds of honey.
The form and number of the combs in a hive vary considerably, the bees adapting them according to the shape of their domicile, so as to fit and fill in every part, and often very irregularly. At first they are beautifully white, but soon, from the heat of the hive, become tinged, and finally turn nearly black. The worker-breeding cells are made the first: they are invariably hexagonal in form, and of one uniform size and depth; but those intended only for the storing of honey are often somewhat larger and elongated; sometimes more so on one side than the other. A small dip or inclination upwards is given to the cells, the better to prevent the honey from running out, assisted, moreover, by a small bar or thickened border of wax, at the entrances. The cells in which the drones are bred are larger in diameter than the common ones, and they are generally placed nearer the outside of the hive, though occasionally joined on to the others. When this takes place, our little architects have the sagacity to interpose two or three rows of cells of an intermediate size, gradually enlarged to the proper dimensions. In this, as in everything else, the bees adapt their operations according to circumstances; constructing their combs, either by suspending them from the top of their dwelling, or occasionally by working them from the bottom, upwards.
Propolis.—To attach the combs firmly in their place, the bees employ a pliable substance of balsamic odour, called propolis, a glutinous exudation from certain trees, or their buds, of a grayish colour, which they collect immediately on swarming, blending with it a portion of wax. With this material they varnish the lids of the closed honey-cells, glue up all crevices in the hive, and cement it down to the floor.
Honey.—We have seen that the first want of the swarm is honey, for the purpose of comb-building. This valuable article the bees collect, by means of their proboscis, from the nectaries of certain flowers, from whence it derives a higher or less degree of flavour, together with its colouring matter; sometimes nearly transparent, to various shades of brown. They receive it into their first stomach or honey-bag, the greater portion being subsequently regurgitated into the cells, employing for the purpose those of both workers and drones. As these become severally filled, they are coated over or sealed with a thin covering of wax. The honey-cells, when thus closed, are distinguishable from those containing brood, by being whiter in appearance, and often slightly concave. The brood-cells are more coloured, besides being a little convex. In some seasons honey is abundantly collected when in the state of what is termed honey-dew, a viscous substance found adhering to the leaves of particular trees, especially the oak. This only occurs in certain years, for in others it is found very sparingly, or not at all.
Pollen, or Farina.—The hive will be rapidly filled with combs, and progressively with an increased population, for the eggs, as we have seen in [page 13], are matured in three weeks. In the mean time, the bees will have commenced a new labour—that of collecting pollen or farina. This is the anther-dust of the stamina of flowers, varying in colour according to the source from whence it is derived; and it may be remarked that the bees in their collection never mix together the pollen of different plants, but in each excursion visit only one species of flower. By a peculiar adaptation, they are enabled to brush this off, and pack it into the spoon-like cavities (or baskets as they have been termed), furnished for this object, on the centre joint of their hind legs; being often, as has been already pointed out, mistaken for wax. The powder or meal thus conveyed into the hive is by other bees afterwards kneaded up into paste, and stored for use in the worker cells, adjoining those containing brood. To preserve it from the air, a small portion of honey is put on the top of each cell, coated over with wax. Thus prepared, it is a very heavy substance; and this often leads to a false estimate of the value of a hive; for the annual collection of pollen has been variously estimated at thirty to one hundred pounds in a single family.
Naturalists are, I believe, pretty well agreed that the store of pollen or farina is used (with a mixture of honey and water) chiefly for feeding the larvæ; though a portion of such compound may form, occasionally, the sustenance of the bees themselves. Indeed, it has been asserted that pollen is often found in the stomach of bees engaged in the fabrication of wax.
Water.—At certain dry periods, but always in the breeding time, bees require a supply of water, which is necessary in preparing the farina and honey for the brood, as well as to enable them to secrete wax. If no pond or brook is within a reasonable distance, a shallow vessel will do, filled frequently to the brim, having a piece of thin perforated wood floating on it and covering the whole surface; or it may be filled with moss or pebbles, pouring in water to the top, and placing it near the apiary. Precaution is necessary, for the bees easily slip into the water and are drowned. So essential is water, that it has been recommended to place a supply, early in the year, within the hive.
Shade.—It has already been observed that out-door hives ought not to be left exposed to the mid-day and afternoon sun in sultry weather; the heat not only rendering the bees extremely irascible, but subjecting the combs to melting, and especially in wooden boxes, with most disastrous consequences. In all such cases it is well, therefore, to give the comfort of a mat, or something of the kind, thrown over them. In the words of Gelieu, “they delight best in thick forests, because they there find a uniform temperature and a propitious shade. It is a mistake to suppose that bees exposed to the sun produce the earliest and strongest swarms: I have often experienced the reverse. Bees like the shade when working, and the sun only when in the fields.”