The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1873-11-13
from the Scientific American.1
Bees as Architects.

NOW we exercise patient observation
on nature, analyzing, investigating cal
culating, and combining our facts. and
say coolly with Professor Haughton.
bees construct the largest amount of
material or with Quatrefages, their
lbs tinct is certainly the most developed
OF all living creatures with the execution
OF ants. "The hexagons and rhomboids
OF pee architecture show the proper pro
portions, between the length and breadth
of the CELL which will save most wax. as
the closest mathematical in
- Iounu Dy - Great authority
vestigation. says anotneA O. ines
Man is obliged to use all sorts OF eng
for measurement-angles, rules, plumb
= lines-to produce his buildings, and
guide his hand; the bee executes her
work mmediately from her mind with
out instruments or tools of any kind.
'She has successfully solved problem
in higher mathematics, which the dis
covery of the differential calculus, CEN
tury and a half ago, alone enables us to
solves at all without the greatest diff
Guilty" "The inclination of the planes
of the cell is always just, SO that, if the
surfaces on which she works are unequal
still the axis running through its inc
qualities is in the true direction, and the
junction of the two axes forms the angle
60o as accurately as if there were none"
The manner in which she adapts her
work to the requirements of the moment
and the place is marvellous. A center
comb burdened with honey was seen by
Huber and others to have broken away
from its place, and to be leaning against
the next so as to prevent the passage of
the bees. As it was October, and the
bees could get no fresh material they
Z Immediately gnawed away wax from the
older structure, with which they made
two horizontal bridges to keep the comb
in its place, and then fastened it above
and at the sides, with all sorts of irregu-
lar pillars joists. and buttresses; after
which they removed as much Of the lower
cells and honey, which blocked the way,
So. as to leave the necessary thoroughfares
to different parts of the hive, showing
design, sagacity, and resource Huber
mentions how they will find out mis-
take in their work, and remedy it. Ger
tain pieces of wood had been fastened by
him inside glass hive, to receive the
foundation of combs. These had been
placed too close to allow of the customary
passages. The bees at first built on not
perceiving the defect, but soon changed
their lines SO as to give the proper dis
tance, though they were obliged to curve
the combs out of all usual form. Huber
then tried the experiment another way
He glazed the floor as well as the roof O
the hive The bees cannot make theil
work adhere to glass, and they began tt
built horizontally from side to side; h,
interposed other plates of glass in differ
ent directions, and they curved thei
combs into the strangest shapes, in orde
to make them reach the wooden sup
ports. He says that this proceeding de
noted more than instinct, as glass wa
- not substance against which bees coult
be warned by Nature, and that the
changed the direction of the work befor
reaching the glass, at the distance pre-
cisely suitable for making the necessar
turns-enlarging the cells on the QUITE
side greatly and on the inner side d
minishing them proportionately. A
different insects were working on the di
ferent sides, there must have been som
means of communicating the proportio
b to be observed; While the bottom bein
common to both sets of cells, the difficult
ls- of thus regularly varying their dinner
z sions must have been great indeed. Tn
diameter of the cells also varies accorC
ing to the grubs to be bred in then
Those for males have the same six side
with three lozenges at bottom, as thos
for workers, and the angles are the same
but the diameter of the first is Is line
that for the workers only 2-5 Whe
changing from one size to another the
will make several rows of cells Intern
diate in size, gradually increasing or d
minishing, as required. When there is
great abundance of honey they will il
crease both the diameter and the dept
of their cells, which are found sometim,
as much as an inch and a half in dent