BEES are very cleanly animals refpecting themselves, although not fo refpecting the remains of their young. They, I believe, feldom or never evacuate their excrement in the hive. I have known them confined many days without discharging the contents of the rectum; and the moment they got abroad, they evacuated in the air, when flying and they appear to be very nice in their bodies, for I have often de tected them cleaning one another, more especially if by accident they are besmeared with honey.

This animal may be confidered alone, or so far as concerns its own economy as an individual, which is common to the most folitary animals; but it can alfo be confidered as a member of fociety, in which it is taking an active part, and in which it becomes an object of great curiofity.

To confider this fociety individually, it may be faid to confift of a female breeder, female non-breeders, and males: but to confider it as a community, it may be faid to confift only of female breeders and nonbreeders, the males anfwering no other purpose than fimply as a male, and are only temporary; and it is probable, the female breeder is to be confidered in no other light than as a layer of eggs, and that the only in-, fluences the non-breeders by her prefence, being only a bond of union, for without her they seem to have no tie; it is her prefence that makes them an aggregate animal. May we not fuppofe that the offspring of the queen have an attachment to the mother, fomewhat fimilar to the attachment of young birds to the female that brings them up? For although the times of their attachment are not equal, yet it is the dependence which

each has on its mother, that confti

tutes the bond; for bees have none without her: however, the fimilarity is not exact, for young animals who have lot their nurse will herd together, and jointly make the best shifts they can, because in future they are to become tingle animals; but bees have an eternal inftinctive dependence on the mother, probably from their not being diftinct fexes. When the queen is loft, this detachment is broke; they give up induftry, probably die; or, we may fuppofe, join some other hive. This is not the cafe with those of this tribe, whofe queen fingly forms a colony; for although the queen is deftroyed, yet they go on with that work which is their lot; as the wafp, hornet and humble bee. Moft probablythe whole economy of the bee, which we fo much admire, belongs to the non-breeders, and depends on their instinctive powers being fet to work by the prefence of the breeders, that being their only enjoyment; therefore when we talk of the wonderful economy of bees, it is chiefly the labourers at large we are to admire, although the queen gets the principal credit, for the extent of their instinctive properties.

This economy, in its appearances and operations, is fomewhat fimilar to human fociety, but, very different in its first causes and mode of conduct. The human fpecies fets up its own ftandard; the bees has one fet up by nature, and therefore fulfils all the neceffary purposes. This ftandard of influence, which is the breeder, is called the queen, and I fhall keep to the name, although I do not allow her voluntary influence or power.

The non-breeders are what compose the hive, or what may be called the community at large; and the males, are mere males: each of these

males are entirely bred in the fame feafon, part go off; but part muft ftay, and moft probably it is fo with the others. They commonly come off in the heat of the day, often immediately after a fhower; who takes the lead I do not know, but should fuppofe it was the queen. When one goes off, they all immediately follow, and fly about seemingly in great confufion, although there is one principle actuating the whole. They foon appear to be directed to fome fixed place; fuch as the branch of a tree or bush, the cavities of old trees, holes of houfes leading into fome hollow place; and whenever the ftand is made, they all immediately repair to it, till they are all collected. But it would feem, in fome cafes, that they had not fixed upon any refting place before they came off, or if they had, that they were either disturbed, if it was near, or that it was at a great distance; for, after hovering fome time, as if undetermined, they fly away, mount up into the air, and go off with great velocity. When they have fixed upon their future habitation, they immediately begin to make their combs, for they have the materials within themfelves. I have reafon to believe that they fill their crops with honey when they come away; probably from the ftock in the hive. I killed feveral of those that came away, and found their crops full, while those that remained in the hive had their crops not near fo full: fome of them came away with farina on their legs, which I conceive to be rather accidental. I may juft obferve here, that a hive commonly fends off two, fometimes three swarms in a fummer; but that the fecond is commonly less than the first, and the third lefs than the fecond; and this laft has feldom time to provide for the winter: they fhall often threaten to fwarm, but do not; whether the threatening is owing to too many bees, and their not fwarming is owing to there being no queen, I do not know. It fometimes happens that the fwarm fhall go back again;

but in fuch inftances I have reafon to think that they have loft their queen, for the hives to which their fwarm have come back do not swarm the next warm day, but shall hang out for a fortnight, or more, and then fwarm; and when they do, the swarm is commonly much larger than before, which makes me fufpect that they waited for the queen that was to have gone off with the next swarm.

So far we have fet the colony in motion. The materials of their dwelling, or comb, which is the wax, is the next confideration, with the mode of forming, preparing, or difpofing of it. In giving a totally new account of the wax, I fhall firft fhow it can hardly be what it has been fuppofed to be Firft, I shall observe that the materials, as they are found compofing the comb, are not to be found in the fame ftate (as a compofition) in any vegetable, where they have been fuppofed to be got. The fubftance brought in on their legs, which is the farina of the flowers of plants, is, in common, I believe, imagined to be the materials of which the wax is made, for it is called by moft the wax: but it is the farina, for it is always of the fame colour as the farina of the flower where they are gathering; and indeed we fee them gathering it, and we also fee them covered almost all over with it, like a duft; nevertheless, it has been fuppofed to be the wax, or that the wax was extracted from it. Reaumur is of this opinion. I made feveral experiments to fee if there was fuch a quantity of oil in it, as would account for the quantity of wax to be formed, and to learn if it was compofed of oil. I held it near the candle;, it burnt, but did not fmell like wax, and had the fame fmell, when burning, as fa rina when it was burnt. I obferved that this fubftance was of different colours on different bees, but always of the fame colour on both legs of the fame bee; whereas new made comb was all of one colour. I obferved, that it was gathered with more avidity

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for old hives, where the comb is complete, than for those hives where it is only begun, which we could hardly conceive if it was the materials of wax: alfo we may obferve, that at the very beginning of a hive, the bees feldom bring in any fubftance on their legs for two or three days, and after that the farina gatherers begin to increase; for now fome cells are formed to hold it as a ftore, and fome eggs are laid, which when hatched will require this fubftance as food, and which will be ready when the weather is wet. I have alfo obferved, that when the weather has either been fo cold, or fo wet, in June, as to hinder a young fwarm from going abroad, they have yet in that time formed as much new comb, as they did in the fame time when the weather was fuch as allowed them to go abroad. I have feen them bring it in about the latter end of March, and have obferved, in glafs hives, the bees with the farina on their legs, and have feen them difpofing of it, as will be described hereafter.

perceived any thing that could give me the leaft idea of wax; I conceived thefe fcales might be it, at least I thought it neceffary to investigate them. I there took feveral on the point of a needle, and held them to a candle, where they melted, and immediately formed themselves into a round globe; upon which I no longer doubted but this was the wax, which opinion was confirmed to me by not finding thofe fcales but in the building feafon. In the bottom of the hive we fee a good many of the scales lying loofe, fome pretty perfect, others in pieces. I have endeavoured to catch them, either taking this matter out of themselves, from between the scales of the abdomen, or from one another, but never could fatisfy myfelf in this refpect: however, I once caught a bee examining between the fcales of the belly of another, but I could not find that it took any thing from between. We very often fee fome of the bees wagging their belly, as if tickled, running round, and to and fro, for only a little way, followed by one or two other bees, as if examining them. I conceived they were probably shaking out the fcales of wax, and that the others were ready upon the watch to catch them, but I could not abfolutely determine what they did. It is with these scales that they form the cells called the comb, but perhaps nor entirely, for, I believe, they mix farina with it; however, this only occafionally, when probably the fecretion is not in great plenty. I have fome reason to think, that where no other fubftance is introduced, the thickness of the fcale is the fame with that of the fides of the comb; iffo, then a comb may more than a number of thefe united; but a great deal of the comb seems to be too thick for this, and, indeed, would appear to be a mixture, fimilar to the covering of the chryfalis. The wax naturally is white, but when melted from the comb at large, it is yellow. I apprehended this might arise from its being stained with honey, the

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excre

excrement of the maggots, and with the bee-bread. I fteeped fome white comb in honey, boiled fome with farina, as also with old comb, but I could not fay that it was made yellow, Wax, by bleaching, is brought back to its natural colour, which is alfo a proof that its colour is derived from fome mixture. I have reason to believe that they take the old comb, when either broken down, or by any accident rendered useless, and employ it again; but this can only be with combs that have had no bees hatched in them, for the wax cannot be feparated from the filk afterward. Reaumur fuppofed that they new worked up the old materials, because he found the covering of the chryfalis of a yellower colour than the other parts of the new comb; but this is always fo, whether they have old yellow comb to work up, or not, as will be fhewn.

The bees who gather the farina, allo form the wax, for I found it be tween their scales.

regularly arranged, not forming a regular plane where they might have done fo; but are often adapted to the fituation, or fhape of the cavity in which they are built. The bees do not endeavour to fhape their cavity to their work, as the wafps do, nor are the cells of equal depths, alfo fitting them to their fituation; but as the breeding cells muft all be of a given depth, they referve a fufficient num ber for breeding in, and they put the honey into the others, as alfo into the fhallow ones. The attachment of the comb round the cavity is not continued, but interrupted, fo as to form paffages; there are alfo paffages in the middle of the plates, especially if there be a crofs ftick to fupport the comb; these allow of bees to go across from plate to plate. The subftance which they ufe for attaching their combs to furrounding parts is not the fame as the common wax; it is fofter and tougher, a good deal like the substance with which they cover in their chryfalis, or the humble bee furrounds her eggs. It is prebably a mixture of wax with farina. The cells are placed nearly horizontally, but not exactly fo; the mouth raised a little, which probably may be to retain the honey the better; however this rule is not strictly observed, for often they are horizonal, and toward the lower edge of a plane of comb they are often declining. The first combs that a hive forms are the fmalleft, and much neater than the laft, or lowermoft. Their fides, or partitions between cell and cell, are much thinner, and the hexagon is much more perfect. The wax is purer, being probably little else but wax, and it is more brittle. The lower combs are confiderably larger, and contain much more wax, or perhaps, more properly, more materials and the cells are at fuch distances as to allow them to be of a round figure: the wax is fofter, and there is fomething mixed with it. I have observed that the cells are not all of equal fize, fome being a degree larger than the

The cells, or rather the congeries of cells, which compofe the comb, may be faid to form perpendicular plates, or partitions, which extend from top to bottom of the cavity in which they build them, and from fide to fide. They always begin at the top, or roof of the vault, in which they build, and work downward; but if the upper part of this vault, to which their combs are fixed, is removed, and a dome is put over, they begin at the upper edges of the old comb, and work up into the new cavity at the top. They generally may be guided as to the direction of their new plates of comb, by forming ridges at top, to which they begin to attach their comb. In a long hive, if thefe ridges are longitudinal, their plates of comb will be longitudinal; if placed tranfverfe, fo will be the plates; and if oblique, the plates of comb will be oblique. Each plate confifts of a double set of cells, whose bottoms form the partition between each fet. The plates themselves are, not very

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others;