Charles Gariepy, age 11, of Williamsport, Pa., for his question:
Where do bees get wax for their honeycombs?
The little worker bee performs an endless round of duties. Same of her chores are highly skilled, and she needs very special equipment to do them. However she is an animal, and animals have not mastered the ability to make their own tools. The bee depends upon her own small body to prepare bee bread and royal jelly, honey and wax for making honeycombs.
The body of the honeybee is a small miracle. Her legs are fitted with tiny grocery baskets into which she stuffs golden pollen. Her mouth is a syphon for gathering nectar from deep in the throats of summery flowers. She has a special stomach for changing nectar into the rich syrup which will become sugary honey. She shops for these groceries in the busy summer season when the flowers are in full bloom. But honey and other foods for the hive must be stored, for they will be Needed later. The storage gantry is a waxen honeycomb made of neat, six sided cells. The wax is still another item manufactured in a miniature laboratory inside the worker bee's body. When time comes to make or repair the waxen cel1s, the hotleybee gorges herself with honey and more honey. She has special glandular tissue on the underside of her furry abdomen. Here the surplus honey she has eaten is transformed by a secret process into milky white wax. The underside of her abdomen is covered with overlapping scales, and the wax produced by the glands oozes out between them. It soon sets into stiff wax. and the bee has a doub1e row of these f1akes on her underside.
She uses the spikes of the pollen baskets on her hind legs to pry loose the flakes of wax. Then she uses her front legs to transfer the wax to her mouth, where it is thoroughly chewed. The wax is now in a pliable plastic state., and the worker bee can mold it into a new cell or use it to repair a worn cell. The cells for the baby worker bees and those for storing pollen are about a fifth of an inch wide. The drone cells are larger., and the cells for raring new queens are The largest. The honey cells are slightly tilted to prevent the precious food from spilling.
The bee hive often needs repairing, and cracks must be sealed against the cold. Bee glue or propolis is used for these jobs. The worker bee collects resins and gums from buds and various leaves and stuffs it into her pollen baskets. When she gets home, another worker must help her remove this guy material and place it where it is needed.