Page:Jardine Naturalist's library Bees.djvu/44

 copied from Huber, gives a representation of one of the segments or rings, in which a b is a small horny prominence, forming the division between two areas which are bounded by a solid edge c n d g m e. "The scales of wax, (Fig. 2,) are deposited in these two areas, and assume the same shape, viz. an irregular pentagon. Only eight scales are furnished by each individual Bee, for the first and last ring, constituted differently from the others, afford none. The scales do not rest immediately on the body of the insect; a slight liquid medium is interposed, which serves to lubricate the junctures of the rings, and facilitate the extraction of the scales, which might otherwise adhere too firmly to the sides of the receptacles."