Bees' eggs are long shaped, about one-twelfth of an inch in length, are bluish white, and hatch in three days. The eggs hatch into little worm-like creatures, called larvae. They lie curled up in their cells as you curl up in bed on a cold night. They are fed by the workers for five days and then they refuse to eat and the workers seal up the cell—very much as you pull the bed clothes over your head and go to sleep. Then the bee that is to be spins himself a silk cocoon and is changed into a pupa—such as you see in this picture. About the first day after he becomes a pupa, he breaks from his cell a perfect little bee. All his aunts caress him and feed him just as other people do their babies. The next day, he tries his wings.
We see here the under side of the worker bee. This is magnified three times so as to show clearly the wax scales or pockets. When a swarm of bees begin to keep house in a new hive their first task is to manufacture wax out of which to make the comb. It is interesting to note what bees do and how they conduct themselves in making the wax. They eat all the honey they possibly can and then they remain quiet for about twenty-four hours. We do not know how the honey is changed into wax, but at the end of that time the wax appears in these wax pockets that you see in the picture. In the new hive the bees have suspended themselves from the top or roof of the hive and hang down like a curtain. When the scales have become filled with wax, they are ready for work and some of them run up to the top of the hive and lay the foundation of the comb. The making of the comb then proceeds rapidly. It takes about twenty-one pounds of honey to make one pound of wax, but this amount will make about 35,000 honeycomb cells. When first made the wax is of a white color; it turns brown with age.
This picture gives an end view of a comb and shows how the honey is kept from spilling out before the cell is filled and sealed up; just as Mother seals her jelly glasses when they are ready for the winter storehouse. See how the bottoms of the cells are curved.
