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

ARCHITECTURE OF BEES. 363
to our great satisfaction, we saw a little block
rising on one of the slips that we had pre¬
pared to receive the superstructure.
No obstacle was offered to the progress
of our observations; and, for the second time,
we beheld both the undertaking of the
founder, and the successive labours of seve¬
ral wax workers, in forming the block.
Would that my readers could share the in¬
terest which the view of these architects in¬
spired !
The block, originally very small, was en¬
larged as the work required; and here they
excavated a hollow on one side, of about the
width of a common cell; and on the opposite
surface two others somewhat more elongated.
The middle of the single cell corresponded
exactly to the partition separating the lat¬
ter ; fig. 32, 33. The arches of these ex¬
cavations, projecting by the accumulation of
wax, were converted into rectilinear promi¬
nences; whence the cells of the first row
were pentagonal, considering the slip as one
side; and those of the second row hexago¬
nal, fig. 34, 35.
The interior conformation of the cavities
apparently was derived from the position of
their respective outlines. It seemed that