Why do bees build hexagonal cells?

The bee is a social animal, its group life takes place together with many individuals of the same family who live in a very numerous colony called beehive . In the case of beekeeping, the farmer offers the bees a different home: the hive . Whether it is hives settled in nature or hives, bees continuously build many hexagonal-shaped cells that perform many functions starting from laying eggs, up to the storage of honey. But why do the honeycomb cells have this particular six-sided geometric shape? Let's find out together.

How bees build a nest

Bees are very important animals for our planet, for the preservation of the ecosystem and for our very survival over time. The world of bees is governed by truly ingenious functions and mechanisms that leave us truly amazed. These animals are not only very hardworking but also very efficient and accurate. In their survival mechanisms, nothing is left to chance and the work of the swarm produces perfect results. Just think of the construction of the nest which is one of the first factors they deal with, just look at the appearance of their cells to appreciate their absolute precision and perfect arrangement.

Building a nest and therefore a house to live in is essential for bees. The combs will be used to grow the larvae after laying the eggs but also to store honey as a food supply for the winter. Therefore, they must be facilitating in form to make sure they are as capacious as possible but not bulky.

Beehive or hive: where bees live

In nature, bees build their homes in trees, especially in the hollows that form on the trunks and in practical places to ensure that the hive is not in danger. The hives, on the other hand, are artificial structures created by beekeepers that offer bees the possibility of having shelter and satisfying their biological needs without problems. Meanwhile, they also allow beekeepers to act easily in their work. Inside the hives, bees build many hexagonal cells as cradle of the larvae and warehouse for honey.

Hexagonal shape of the cells

The explanation regarding the hexagonal shape of the cells was worked out after several observations.

Hives are made up of honeycombs. A honeycomb is nothing more than a set of small hexagonal cells that form what we generally know as a honeycomb structure . To build the cells, our beloved bees first produce wax . It is formed by a substance generated by the bees themselves through some glands on their abdomen.

In geometry, the shape that can hold a larger volume while occupying a small space is the sphere. The bees know this well, for this reason they begin to build cells that have a more circular shape. To avoid leaving unnecessary space between one circle and another, the bees build the cells as close as possible to each other so that the circles as they approach deform and create common sides with the other cells. This assembly gives life to the hexagonal shapes that allow you to save space, not to waste wax (given the presence of common sides) and to create a strong and firm structure .

After all, the hexagon , like the sphere, is the shape that is able to better fill a certain area than other solutions such as, for example, the triangle or the square. The bees will then be able to store the greatest amount of honey or pollen and to give more living space to the growing larvae, using the least amount of wax possible. On a mechanical level, a structure of this type looks like a very solid construction and is maintained over time without collapsing on itself or breaking.

Bees build cells of different sizes

Depending on the function of each cell, bees build them in different sizes. The smaller ones are intended for worker bees , while the slightly larger ones are intended for male bees and therefore for drones . As for the cell of the queen bee , it has a completely different shape from the others as it is much larger and looks like an elongated dome with an appearance comparable to that of a thimble. 

Frequency of the number 6 in nature

It has been found that the number 6 is very present in nature. In addition to the hexagonal cells of bees, the nests of other insects such as that of wasps also have a six-sided polygon shape.

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