Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Supplement, Volume 2.djvu/790

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To trace thefe Wotms of the bee to their oiigin, we are to obferve that the female bee lays an egg at the bottom of each cell, and that this is not fimply dropped into this place, but that the bee fixes it to a certain part ; that is, either to the bate of the cell, or to one of the angles; by its (mailer end. The egg is of an oblong figure, and is larger at one end than at the other ; it is covered With a thih flexible membrane inftead of a fhell, fo that it may be bent double, and will, on taking off the force, return to its own fhape again. Reaumur, Hilt, inf. vol. 10. p. 239.

Thefe eggs appear perfectly fmooth and gloffy to the naked eye ; but when viewed with powerful glafies, there is a fcaly ftrudrure obferved in them ; though Mr. Reaumur fufpedts that this is not on the outfide, but is feen through the tranf- parent covering, and is, in reality, the ftructure of the Worm within.

Though it be the regular courfe of nature, that only one egg fhould be depoflted in each cell, yet there are fometimes found two, three, or even four, in one place: the occafion of this ufually is a female bee's being engaged in a fmall fwarm, in which the working bees cannot erect combs fait enough, fo that as fhe is under a necefhty of depofiting her eggs from day to day, fhe is compelled to put them two or three together : thefe, however, feldom come to any thing, fuch fmall fwarms ufually difperfing after a while, the female feeking admittance into fome other hive, in which fhe may lay at her leifure. When the bees work in the common way, and the female is fo preffed to depofit her eggs, that fhe cannot ftay the necefTary time, fhe often, in this cafe, places two or three eggs in a cell ; but as the number of cells every day increafes, the hive is not deferted on this occafion ; but the fwarm continues in it, and the female continues her laying as the workers make the cells ; as it is impoflible, however, lor two or three Worms to live in one cell, the worm, when at full growth, and when in the nymph-ftate, entirely filling up the whole cavity, the bees fbrefee the event, arid take care to remove the fupernumerary eggs out of the cells, leaving only one in each. Reaumur's. Hift. Infect, vol. 10. p. 244.

It has been a common opinion among authors, that after the eggs of the bees are thus depoflted in the cells, they are let upon, in order to be hatched in the manner of thofe of birds. The generality of writers have given this office of fit- ting to the drones or male bees; but others, who have ob- ferved the fwarms more narrowly, and found that there are no drones in the hives, except for about three months of the year, and that the eggs remain in the cells at times when they are not there, have declared, that the common working-bees do this necefTary office ; nay, fome, who have written ex- prefsly on this fubject, have gone fo far as to give directions what fhould be done with fuch bees as were found fitting on the eggs, when the fwarms were removed from one hive to another.

Mr. Maraldi, who could not give into this opinion of the bees fitting on the eggs, yet was for giving them fome ofEce in re- gard to their hatching, and confequently obferves that the bees got on the tops of the cells which contains the eggs, and there fluttering their wings with great rapidity, excite a heat which occafions the young ones to be hatched. This, how- ever, is not lefs erroneous than the other ; for a drift obferva- tion always fhews that the cells in which the eggs are, are wholly left and abandoned by the bees, and they never go near them, except when their road lies by them on their other ne- cefTary occafions. It is very probable indeed that the heat of the hive is a great agent in the hatching of the eggs ; but the fingle bees never attempt to add to this, in regard to any par- ticular cell, and without this the heat within is often equal to that of the eggs fat upon by a hen, and fometimes fuperior to it.

The eggs are hatched about three days after the bee depofits them, and all their changes are afterwards fo fwift, that it is necefTary to watch them very attentively, inorder to fee them. In almoft two days after the hatching, the Worm is found grown to fo large a fize, that it is fcarce to be believed the fame animal. The whole period of the life and changes of the Worm is contained in about feventeen days ; for if a cell be ob- ferved in which an egg is juft laid, and the fame cell be exa- mined twenty days afterwards, the young bee will be found juft ready to appear out of the nymph of the Worm, and take its flight from the cell. The labouring feafon of the bees, in this refpeel, is when they are newly hived, and their induftry, and the efforts of it at that time, are fcarce credible. Mr. Reaumur obferved the whole procefs in a fwarm which he put into a new hive on the twenty-fifth of May. They all immediately began to work upon their combs, and on the twenty-feventh, which was only two days after, there were a vaft number of cells erefted, in each of which the female, or queen, had depoflted an egg ; and on the feventeenth of June, thefe cells all furnifhed the hive with a new fwarm, each pro- ducing its bee.

From"tl K time that the Worm is hatched out of the ego-, to its paffing into the nymph-ftate, it always remains at the bot- tom of the cell, and lies rolled up in form of a ring, its head coming very near the tail. In this manner it lies very com- fortably, there being under it a fort of bed of a foft and gluti-

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nous white matter, which prevents the hard matter of the cell from prefling agaiuft it. This matter has alio another ufe yet more materially r.cceflary' to fhe animal, as it (lives for its food.

'I he common working bees are deffined to take care of the young brood, and the care they take to keep them (upplicd is furprifing. The Worm is a feeble animal, not able to go out of its cell in fearch of food, nor is it by any means proper that it fhould, as the combs would be deifroyed by the continual paffing of a number of fuch creatures. When the bees are obferved by means of a glafs-hive, it is eafity fecn in what manner they prevent the neceffity of this all the time that the Wornu are alive in the cells : their chief bufmefs is their fup- port, and there are numbers of them every moment [eui plunging their heads into the cells, and depofiting there a iup- pfy of this matter, which ferves for the nourifliment of the young brood. It is a' pleafing fight to obferve how Carefully they come one after another to the fame cell, till there is a fufficient quantity in it, aod, after this, how others that come in on the fame iervice, looking into that cell, and, finding it fupplicd, pafs over it to others which want their help. Reaumur's Hift. Inf. vol. ic. p. 246. When we fee the bee in this employment, after plunging its head into the cell, remain in that poffure fome time before it dratos it out again ; it is eafily conceited, that it is there dif- gorging what we find afterwards left in the cell. It is to be obferved, that fome have fuppofed this white matter which furrounds the Worms to be their excrements, not their' food j but there are many reafons againft this opinion, The Worms of winged infects in this ftate void little or no excrement ; and if this matter of the bees cells was the excrement of the Worms, it mult neceflarily follow that it muft be found in fmalleft quantity when the Worm was firft hatched, and daily increaf- ing afterwards ; but juft the contrary of this is the cafe, for the quantity of it is greateft of all while the Worm is very young, and there is none of it found by that time when the creature is full grown, and is ready to pafs into the nymph- ftate.

Swammerdam, and other curious inquirers into the ceconomy of bees, have wondered where the creatures produced this li- quid fubftance, which is of a whitifh colour, of the thicknefs of cream, and of an infipid tafte like flour and water. Some have fuppofed it the extravafated juices of trees and plants, collect ed by the bees for this ufe ; but it is much more proba- ble, that it is the matter of the common food of thefe animals. Tie honey and rough wax which, after having paffed their di- geftion, is reduced to a fubftance of this kind, analogous' to the milk of animals, is in this ftate voided by the mouth by thefe animals, for the fupport of their young, while in a con- dition in which they cannot help themfelves. The bees feem yet farther careful of their offspring, and take the pains to bring them up by degrees from more infipid to lefs infipid food ; for as they are to live on honey in their fly-ftate, they are to be by degrees brought to this- diet while Worms. This will be found to be the cafe, on examining the cells in which they live at their different ffages. In the firft ftage, or while the Worms are very young, the matter of their nouriih- ment is found perfectly infipid, as before obferved ; but as they advance in growth, if it be tarred at different times, it becomes more and more fweet; and, in fine, what is brought for the nourifliment of the Worm, when nearly arrived at the time of its change into the nymph-ftate, is little different from ho- ney.

The bees therefore feem able to give this matter what fort of preparation they pleafe, and it is evidently different at thefe different times, not only in tafte but colour. At firft it is white, but it afterwards becomes tranfparent and colourlefs, and after this greenifh or ycllowifh, very often refemblino- in colour diluted honey. Reaumur's Hift. Inf. vol. 10. p. 247. The Worm has no legs, as indeed it has no need of any, its whole life, in that ftate, being deftined to be fpent in that cell where it is firft hatched : it is not eafy to get one of them out of the cell without hurting it ; but when it is carefully ta- ken out, and laid on a paper, it is found to have no power of crawling, but only gives figns oflife by turning its head a little, about. There is very little difference in the growth ; its co- lour only changes from a fomewhat bluifh-white, which ic is at firft, to a purer white, and the incifures between the rings become lefs deep, and in fine, almoft wholly difappear when the creature is at its full growth.

The head of this Worm is fomewhat harder than the reft of the body, and is of a regular figure, being flatted, and compofed like the head of the caterpillar, of two lips, the under one divided into three parts, and the upper one being furnifhed with two hard fubftances in form of teeth, though much lefs folid and ftrong than thofe of the caterpillar, as°this creature has nothing to do with folid food. In the full grown Worms there is always feen a yellow line or ftreak running directly along the middle of the back. This Teems to be a ftreak on thefurface of the (kin, but it is, in reality, no other than the great canal of the interlines, which is eafily feen through the tranfparent (kin, as it is full of a yellowifh matter, very "much refembling honey.

Under the belly of this creature there is an appearance of cer- tain