Page:Jardine Naturalist's library Bees.djvu/113

Rh circumstances demand the construction of enlarged cells, and after building 30 or 40 rows of them, to return to the proper proportions from which they have departed, by successive reductions. Both of these kinds of cells being nearly horizontal, it may seem surprising that they can be filled with, and retain, the honey-fluid. The fact is, however, that they are not horizontal, but are elevated at an angle of never less than 5°, and sometimes when the honey is rendered peculiarly thin and fluid by the warmth of the season, at not less than from 15° to 20° above the level of the horizon. We have often observed in the months of July and August, when the weather was very favourable for the secretion of honey and wax, the bees eagerly engaged in forming cells designed for honey only, and differing considerably from those which are intended in the first instance for the reception of eggs. The texture of the former is thinner, and their depth much greater; and as the honey is at this period of the year of a rarer and more fluid quality, these cells are by a wise instinct made with a much greater dip or inclination than the ordinary ones, that there may be less risk of the liquid running out before they are sealed. Doubtless, also, the honey is prevented from escaping, partly by its own viscosity, and partly by the force of capillary attraction. For if we carefully examine a cell when nearly full, it will be observed that the surface of the fluid is considerably concave, from its adhesion to the sides of the cell. It will also be observed how ingeniously the bees seal up their