BEE-spoke-data/bees-v0 huggingface dataset:
Not knowing what this disposition should be ascribed to, I endeavored to revive the instinct of these bees by giving them other brood to care for; but this attempt was unsuccessful; the bees did not feed the new larva, although they had pollen in store. We offered them honey, hoping to supply thus a more natural method of alimenting their young; but it was useless; all the brood perished; perhaps the bees could no longer produce the jelly which is the food of the larvae; except in this particular they appeared to have lost none of their faculties, they were equally active and laborious. At last, from motives unknown to us, all deserted their hive together one day and did not return to the hive.
Whatever be the cause of the alteration which we noticed in the instinct of bees which have been fed too long with sugar, one may not see without admiration that this substance is modified in the flowers so as to be used by bees without inconvenience; but everything in nature is adapted for long continued use, and the elements are combined with so much foresight that they never act in isolation but with all the energy proper to them.
## Chapter 3 On the Architecture of Bees.
The great problem that bees present to us by their astonishing industry does not exclusively belong to the exact sciences: physics, chemistry, anatomy even would find applications in it; but their efforts would be insufficient without the help of natural history, which observes the habits of animals and studies all the circumstances of their active life. It is natural history which, by raising the veil, uncovers facts to us under their divers disguises; and leads the other sciences upon the way of other researches to which they are adapted.
Thus when we demonstrate that wax is an animal secretion, and that it proceeds from the sweet part of honey, we leave it for the chemists to decide in what manner this secretion operates, whether sugar or one of its constituents changes to wax, or whether it is only the stimulating cause of a particular action, and we also invite the anatomists to seek for the organs which have escaped our attention.
It is time to examine how bees use the substance exuding from their rings, and to discover how they prepare it to convert it into true bees wax, for this substance does not leave the lodges where it is moulded in a perfect state, it differs in several respects from what it is after having been carved; it has only the fusibility of wax, it is friable and brittle, it does not have the ductility which it will acquire later; it is still as transparent as plates of tale, whereas that which constitutes the cells is opaque and of a yellowish white color.
We must also watch the bees when they are busy removing the scales of wax from under their wings, we must learn how they trim the bottoms of their cells, the prisms composed of trapezes; observe the manner in which they join the bottom of each cell with that of three other cells, how they give to their design the proper slope, &c., &c.
We might form ingenious suppositions upon all these marvels but we cannot divine the processes of insects; we must observe them. The most simple methods may not present themselves to our mind; we usually seek to explain the behavior of animals after our own faculties, according to our lights and our means; but the being which directs their instinct takes his views outside of the limits assigned to us and in a sphere of ideas in which our most learned designs, our most specious reasoning betoken the limits of our nature.
We have been able to ascertain, through the hypotheses of a celebrated writer, how insufficient are the most extensive knowledge and the brighest conceptions without the concourse of observation, to explain, in a plausible manner, the art displayed by the bees in constructing their cells. Consumate naturalists failed when they attempted to penetrate this mys
## Chapter 8 On the architecture of BES.
scattered over the body of the bee, as she collects them. In the legs of the first pair, it is lengthened, rounded and entirely hairy, all the hairs being turned towards the extremity of the tarsus. In the legs of the second pair, the brush is oblong, of irregular shape, flattened, smooth on the outer side, much covered with hairs on the opposite side; these are all turned downwards: it is joined exactly to the middle of the other piece, into which it fits.
The brush of the third pair offers some very remarkable peculiarities which will appear the more so when we make their use known; this piece is shaped very differently from that of the second pair of legs; the only resemblance they have to each other is to be both flat, smooth on the outside and hairy on the other side; but the brush of the third pair (d, figs. 4 & 5) is larger than that of the second and of a peculiar shape. It appears at first sight as a rectangular parallelogram: it was first designated as "square piece" to distinguish it from the palet, the edges of which are triangular, but when examining it carefully we notice that it diverges from the shape described. The rising edges of it cease to appear parallel, when we notice that they are not exactly in straight line and that they tend to come together at one of their extremities; the underside is slightly notched, the upper side is more so and is prolonged in the shape of a very sharp and projecting tooth, while at the other end it rises in the shape of an are to supply a joint with the leg; but this movable piece is not joined into the middle of the base of the other as in the other pairs; it is on the forward angle of the triangular piece that we find the joint which unites them, and the inferior face of the palet being about straight, it forms a real claw with the upper edge of the brush.
Reaumur who gave the description of these two pieces had not noticed that they could spread apart and make an angle the upper edge of which is represented by their joint: he had not noticed that the edge (ab) of this angle was smooth on its outside and that the hairs which form the edge of the basket at that spot come from the sides of the pallet; that these hairs, of great length, curve towards the base and form a sort of arch by coming together; but if the outside of the palet is smooth at that spot, it is not the same on the opposite side (Pl. IV, fig. 6): we see there a row of sealy teeth, similar to those of a comb, almost straight, parallel to each other; of equal length, very acute and slightly sloping towards the opening of the pincers: corresponding with bundles of very strong hairs with which the neighboring portion of the brush is provided.
The scaly projection supplied by the brush at its extremity is slightly turned outwards, and when the two parts of the pincers meet, their ends do not correspond exactly with the edge of the palet, so that the teeth of the one cross with the hairs of the other.
This organization is too obvious not to have a particular aim; indeed nothing similar appears on the legs of either males or queens; but is seen only in bumblebees (bremus) a race very near to the honeybee and whose habits have some analogy with hers. We will soon show its usage among the bees; but it is evident that it cannot in any way serve as a model for the angles by which the different sections of cells are joined.
The tarsus is composed also of three conical articulations very small and elongated and terminating in two pairs of claws. R\(cute{e}\)aumur may be correct in considering this as two articulations, one of which is conical and elongated, the other a fleshy part, with claws arming the foot.
Do the antennae possess these direct patterns for the geometrical forms of the pyramidal bases of which we have as yet found no pattern on the body of the insect? They are bent and composed of twelve articulations; the first two form a peculiar section, which moves in every direction on its base and serves to support the next section composed of the other ten. The first articulation of the antennae is globular, the second cylindrical and much elongated; the third, which is the first of the second section, is conical and very short, the second very long and conical, the remainder are all cylindrical and the last is terminated in a soft point. This organization enables the antenna to make all sorts of motions, and it can, through its flexibility, follow the outline of every object; through its position it may encircle a body of small diameter, and extend in every direction.
Thus, neither the antennae, the teeth, nor the legs of bees are able to serve as patterns for the structure of cells; but the chisel, pincers and compass which they represent are proper instruments for the building of all the parts of a cell; the result which they produce depends entirely upon the aim of the insect.
If the workman is not supplied with a model for his work, if the pattern upon which he cuts each piece is not outside of himself and in his sight, we must admit that some intellect directs his operations.
It is true that we might suppose that the scales of wax, when they emerge from under the rings, have already a shape similar to that which is intended; but we know that the shape of these scales is an irregular pentagon, which resembles neither the trapezes nor the lozenges of which the cells are composed.
Hunter having noticed that the thickness of the bases was about that of one of the scales, inferred that the bees used them as produced and accumulated them upon each other to form the sides which appeared of heavier thickness. We should then take it for granted that the bees were taught to trim these scales and arrange them in regular order; but these are only conjectures and facts are necessary to solve as complicated a question as this.
R\(cute{e}\)aumur, even with glass hives, had not solved the mystery of comb building; he thought that one could gain a correct idea of their operations without witnessing their work; this mistake deprived him of the pleasure of seeing in action the most singular work of all those that insects display. I thought that it was indispensable to witness it, in order to understand the process of building and I sought more proper methods for this than any of my predecessors had used.
One may imagine that glass hives of four sides are sufficient to see the bees construct their combs and that the only other requirement is assiduity and attention; but their architecture is always concealed from our view by clusters of bees several inches in thickness. It is in this cluster, and in darkness, that the combs are built; they are fastened, at their inception, to the ceiling of the hives; they are prolongated downwards, more or less, ac
of the hive, cleansed it and stopped up its edges with odoriferous resin, known as propolis; the wax workers remained motionless above fifteen hours; the curtain consisted of the same individuals and we made sure that none replaced them. Some hours later, we noticed that almost all the wax workers had scales under their rings. The next day, this phenomenon was still more general; the bees on the outside of the cluster had slightly changed their position; one could see the under part of their abdomen distinctly. By the projection of the scales, their rings seemed edged with white; the curtain was rent in several places; less tranquility reigned in the hive.
Convinced that the combs would first appear in the center of the swarm, and that they would soon be noticeable, we concentrated our attention upon the vault of the receiver. The area of the base was in a good light, we could distinctly see the first links of all the festoons of bees which hung from the top of the vault. The concentrical layers which the bees formed, equally crowded together, left no intervals; but the scene was about to be shifted and we witnessed it.
A worker at this time detached herself from one of the central festoons of the cluster, we saw her spread her companions apart, driving away with her head the leaders fastened at the middle of the arch, and by turning around form a space in which she could freely move. She then suspended herself in the center of the field which she had just cleared, the diameter of which was 12 or 13 lines.
We saw her at once seize one of the scales which projected from her rings (Pl. IV, fig. 8); for this purpose she brought towards her abdomen one of the legs of the third pair, rested it against her body, opened the pin-cers which we have described, inserted skillfully the edge of her brush under the scale that she wished to remove, closed up this instrument, pulled the scale of wax from its ring and took it with the claws of her anterior legs, to bring it up to her mouth (figs. 7 & 8).
The bee then held this scale in a vertical position: we noticed that she turned it between her jaws with the help of the claws of her front legs, which held it by its opposite edge and could give it a suitable direction. The tongue, folded on itself, served as a support; by raising and lowering it she could pass every part of the circumference under the edge of the jaws and the edge of the scale was soon broken to pieces. The parcels of wax that fell from it stopped in the hairy cavity which we described when we spoke of bees' teeth. These fragments, having accumulated with others freshly cut, were crowded towards the mouth and issued from it as from a drawing-plate in the shape of a very narrow ribbon.
They next passed through by the tongue which impregnated them with a frothy liquid, similar to a pap. The tongue in this operation made most varded maneuvers; it assumed most varied shapes, now flattening like a spatula, now acting like a trovel applied upon the ribbon of wax; at other times it appeared like a pointed brush.
After having imbued the entire substance of the ribbon with the liquid that loaded it, the tongue forced this ribbon forward and passed it again through the same drawing-plate, but in the opposite direction; this motion
## On the architecture of bees.
brought it towards the sharp edge of the jaws, where it was again chopped up under their carver.
At length, the bee applied these particles of wax to the vault of the hive. The gluten which impregnated them promoted their adhesion; she separated them with a cut of her jaw, from the portion not yet to be used; then with the same instruments she gave them the direction which she intended for them.
The liquid which she mixed with the wax gave it a whiteness and opacity which were wanting when the scales left the rings; doubtless the purpose of this process was to give the wax that ductility and tenacity which it possesses when perfect.
The founding bee (this denomination is well deserved) continued this maneuver until all the fragments, which had been worked up and impregnated with this whitish fluid, were attached to the vault; she then manipulated between her teeth the remainder of the scale which she had kept apart during the working of the ribbon. All the portion which had been thus kept intact during the first operation was employed then, and in the same manner. The worker applied to the underside of the vault all the material prepared, fastened additional material under and on the side of it, and continued until she had entirely exhausted the material supplied.
Second and third scales were treated thus by the same bee, yet the work was only sketched, for it was only material ready to assume any shape wanted; the worker did not attempt to shape the molecules of wax which she assembled; she was satisfied to accumulate them together, this required no effort.
However, the founding bee quit the spot and disappeared among her companions, another with wax under her rings succeeded her; she suspended herself at the same spot, seized with the pincers of the posterior legs one of the scales of wax, and passing it up to her teeth, proceeded with the work.
She did not deposit haphazard the fragments which she manipulated; for the little pile which her companion had built directed her and she put her own in the same alignment, uniting the two at their extremities. A third worker, detaching herself from the interior of the cluster, suspended herself to the ceiling, reduced some of her scales to paste and put them near the materials accumulated by her companions, but not in the same manner, they were placed at an angle with the others: another worker appeared to notice it, and removed the misplaced wax before our eyes, carrying it to the former heap; she deposited it in the same order, following exactly the indicated direction. From all these operations was produced a block of rugged surface, hanging perpendicularly from the vault. One could not perceive any angle, any trace of the figure of cells in this initial work of the bees; it was a simple partition, in a straight line, and without the least inflexion; six or eight lines in length; about two-thirds of the diameter of a cell in height and declining towards its extremities: we have seen other blocks from an inch to an inch and a half long, the form was always the same, but none were of greater height.
The empty space in the center of the cluster permitted us to see the first maneuvers of the bees and to discover the art with which they lay the
## Chapter 4. Continuation of the Architecture of Bees.
FIRST Section. Natural history does not present any phenomenon whose final causes are more tempting to seek than bee architecture. The order and symmetry which reign in their combs invite us to these researches, which please both the heart and the mind at the same time. I shall not investigate as to whether some error has been made in the attribution of these causes and whether nature has not been credited with narrow aims in planning such strict economy among the bees. I shall not decide whether the fine problem solved by Koenig, Cramer, Maraldi, is rigorously applicable to the work of these insects, or whether we should not, in the actions of insects, admit of a certain freedom of action which is not needed in purely physical matters; the reckoning of the modern geometers appear to be better in harmony with the liberal views of the Author of nature, when they figure upon intended' economy as only a secondary object in the plan followed by the bees. There is, indeed, a more important requirement for these insects, which could not have been fulfilled, if their art was confined to this sole meritorious purpose. When I undertook the researches which I am about to relate, I was far from foreseeing that they were to lead me to new conclusions on the structure of combs. Distinguished observers had made this a subject of meditation, and appeared to have fully developed a theory on the pyramidal bases of combs; even their names appeared to confirm the accepted ideas concerning this matter, and I did not expect to discover important facts, unknown till then, through instructions given by me to a simple village. But the most interesting discoveries are not always those that require the most time and effort. A glance, to the base of newly built combs, suggested to us that the details of their construction had not yet been sufficiently studied. The anomalies which they presented appeared to us to be of the greatest importance; I will recall in a few words the usual shape of the cells, in order to describe the traits which seem to furnish a key to the architecture of bees. The cells which any one may examine are composed of two parts, a prismatic hexagonal tube, and a pyramidal base (P1, fig. 1). The latter (bedg), which must be considered the most delicate and essential part of the entire work, is formed of three rhombolds or lozenges, equal and similar, united together in a common center and inclined in a determined angle so as to produce a slight cavity. While these three pieces produce a depression on one of the sides of the comb, they produce a projection (fig. 2) on the other side: and here eachcorresponds to two other pieces which, through their inclination, help to form similar pyramidal bases; that is why each cell is fastened to three other cells by a common base.
On the edge of each pyramidal base (fig. 1) the prismatic hexagonal tube rises, the six sides of which are cut at right angles at the orifice of the cell, and are shaped at their lower extremity so as to fit the angular contour of the pyramidal base.
These cells, by their shape and combination, fulfill probably all the conditions that we might expect from the work of the bees; but are they capable of becoming fastened with sufficient strength to the part of the hive which is to sustain them? This is a very important point which seems to have been overlooked.
A very simple figure (fig. 3) is sufficient to show us that hexagonal prisms, placed side by side can be fastened by only one of their angles to the surface of the ceiling and would leave large vacuities between these angles. And yet the combs need to be solidly fixed.
This condition is so important that it is taken in consideration by nature, at two different times, if we may so express it. First, when the combs are built; secondly when those have become too heavy to be trusted with so frail a support.
The following observations showed us by what precautions the bees provide for the stability of their constructions.
Having directed our attention upon the base of the combs in a newly stocked hive, we were impressed by the appearance of the first row of cells, through which the comb is fastened to the ceiling of the hive. It was different from the rows below it, in such remarkable peculiarities, that we saw fit to examine a number of others for comparison. We found, indeed, that even those of most recent building presented a similar contrast between the fundamental cells and those of which the comb is composed; so that what had first impressed us as an anomaly was really a rule (fig. 11).
The upper part of the combs being always partly hidden from view by the edge of the supports, I realized that they would not promote our observations; that it was necessary to take possession of the work and remove from it the workers whose vigilance would incommode us: but it was important not to alter their masonry, and especially to preserve intact the cells of the first row, which attracted our curiosity. So I had such combs removed from my leaf hives as I wished to examine; we left them for this purpose in the frames in which they had been built; without such precaution we should have failed in our purpose: it was then only that we were able to examine the shape and arrangement of the cells of the first row.
Their orifice, instead of a hexagon, presents the shape of an irregular pentagon (fig. 4): a horizontal line which is that of the hive ceiling, two vertical and perpendicular lines and two oblique lines united at the bottom in an obtuse angle, formed the contour of the cell; so the wax tube was composed of only four pieces, two vertical and two oblique, the ceiling forming a fifth side.
These are not the classical shapes to which we were accustomed. We desired to know whether the bottom of the cells correspond with the shape of their edges; in order to see this more distinctly we cut the tubes away from their bearings; we saw then that their bases were very different from those of the ordinary cells.
We retained only the wall which separates the cells on both sides (fig. 4 and 5). It displayed angular projections and recesses; but as it was throughout of about even thickness, that which was a projection on one side proved to be a recess on the opposite side.
However, on one side the base of each cell was composed of three pieces while on the other it had but two, because these cells, alternately opposite, were unequal: this requires a greater explanation.