| → and the time consumed in collecting the honey must be an 1869 1872 |
| must be a most 1859 1860 1861 |
| must be an 1866 |
|
| → whether a bee allied to our humble-bees could 1869 1872 |
| the numbers of a humble-bee which could 1859 1860 1861 |
| the numbers of a bee allied to our humble-bees, which 1866 |
|
| → large numbers in any 1869 1872 |
| a 1859 1860 1861 |
| any 1866 |
|
| → that 1859 1860 1866 1869 1872 |
| (differently to what really is the case) that 1861 |
|
| → labour and wax. 1869 1872 |
| wax. 1859 1860 1861 |
| wax and labour. 1866 |
|
|
that it has been experimentally proved that from twelve to fifteen pounds of dry sugar are consumed by a hive of bees for the secretion of
pound of wax; so that a prodigious quantity of fluid nectar must be collected and consumed by the bees in a hive for the secretion of the wax necessary for the construction of their combs. Moreover, many bees have to remain idle for many days during the process of secretion. A large store of honey is indispensable to support a large stock of bees during the winter; and the security of the hive is known mainly to depend on a large number of bees being supported. Hence the saving of wax by largely saving honey
→and the time consumed in collecting the honey must be an
important element of success
any family of bees. Of course the success of
species
may be dependent on the number of its
or
or on quite distinct causes, and so be altogether independent of the quantity of honey which the bees
collect. But let us suppose that this latter circumstance determined, as it probably often
→whether a bee allied to our humble-bees could
in
→large numbers in any
country; and let us further suppose
→that
the community lived
the winter, and consequently required a store of honey: there can in this case be no doubt that it would be an advantage to our
if a slight modification
her
led her to make her waxen cells near together, so as to intersect a little; for a wall in common even to two adjoining
would save some little
→labour and wax. Hence it would continually be more and more
to our
if
were to make
cells more and more regular, nearer together, and aggregated into a mass, like the cells of the Melipona; for in this case a large part of the bounding surface of each cell would serve to
|
