Curiosities & wonders > New observations on the natural history of bees

NEW OPINIONS ON WAX.
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Finally, we have seen the scales so large
as to project beyond the rings, being visible
without stretching the segments, and of a
whitish yellow from greater thickness les¬
sening their transparency.
These shades of difference in the scales of
various bees, their enlarged dimensions, the
fluid interposed beneath them, the corres¬
pondence between the scale and the size
and form of the receptacles, seem to infer
the transudation of its substance through
the membranes whereon it is moulded.
We were confirmed in this opinion by
the escape of a transparent fluid, on piercing
the membrane, whose internal surface seemed
to he applied to the soft parts of the belly.
It coagulated in cooling, when it resembled
wax, and again liquified on exposure to heat.
The scales themselves also melted and
coagulated like wax.
In prosecuting our experiments farther
on the analogy of the two substances, we
found, 1. That scales, thrown into spirit of
turpentine, dissolved and disappeared before
reaching the bottom of the vessel, without
rendering the fluid turbid. But an equal
quantity of the spirit could neither dissolve