The Six-Sided Cell

Rene Reaumur, a famous naturalist of the seventeenth century, in speculating as to how the bees arrived at the solution of the six-sided prism, commented thus: "If one does not wish to regard them as very intelligent beings, one is forced to recognize that they must be the work of an Intelligence infinitely perfect and infinitely powerful. "

Similar admiration for the work of the bee in the construction of its comb had been expressed long before the time of the French naturalist. Mathematicians had studied the honeycomb and early decided that of all prisms of equal capacity which fit together without loss of space, the six-sided prism requires the least material in construction. It was also noted that no other construction would offer so much strength with so little material.

Scientists in every age have verified the findings of the old masters, and all alike have concluded that the angles used by the bee are the nearest possible to perfection in that they provide the greatest economy in the use of material with the greatest firmness and strength in the finished structure. Neither the mathematician of ancient Egypt nor the scientist of today has been able to discover any possible improvement of the basic method of the honeybee in the construction of her combs.

In the mind of every student of her activities arise interesting questions. Has the bee arrived at this perfection as the result of experience of her race extending over untold ages, or is she the product of a superior intelligence who made her thus?

Again, the question arises, whether the six-sided cells are the work of intelligent intention or whether they are the natural result of pressure of the soft material used in building. Children blowing bubbles are often observed to pile up an accumulation of these ephemeral objects until they assume six-sided shapes, from the pressure of one upon another.

Shaping The Combs

Whether by accident or design, we must assume that the bee has adopted the most economical form of construction. The material with which she builds is a product of her own body, and thus far, at least, we know that nature serves her. Comb building proceeds rapidly when temperatures are high and soon there is ample space available for the storing of the harvest or the rearing of the young.

Cells are commonly built in two sizes. The larger ones serve for the storing of honey and the rearing of drones. The smaller ones serve in similar manner for the storing of pollen and the rearing of workers. It must not be assumed, however, that there is a hard and fast rule for storing in particular-sized cells, for honey is stored in the smaller cells as well.

As the cells take form, there are of necessity some irregularities where the larger-sized ones come next to those of worker size. These transition cells are poorly adapted for brood rearing and are seldom used except for the storage of honey.

It is amazing that walls built of soft material like wax, and so thin, will support such weight as combs must do when filled with honey. By means of careful measurement Henry Dadant has determined that the walls of newly built combs are only 2/1000 to 3/1000 of an inch in thickness, which is similar to that of tissue paper. And the bases of the cells are even thinner.

Instead of building each cell exactly opposite its companion on the other side of the comb, its base, with three four-sided figures, provides the base of one third of each of three others. The cells are slightly inclined from the open end toward the bottom. In such manner do the bees build combs, often supported only from the top, which at the close of the season may uphold many pounds of honey.

In filling these cells, which open at the end instead of the top, the bee places the drop of honey at the upper side at the back and permits it to run down. With no air remaining behind it, she is able to fill the cells without the honey running out. To the casual observer there is always a bit of mystery in this filling of containers laid on their side, with liquid which does not run away. Once filled the bee covers it with a wax cap to exclude the air and dust, and protect the contents until needed for use.

Honeybees building comb and storing honey.

Honeybees building comb and storing honey.

In a state of nature, while adopting the form which permits the greatest economy and strength, the bee builds with irregularity, with combs of such size or shape as best suits her convenience in utilization of the space at her disposal. Normally the combs are spaced about one and a half inches from center to center, but they are often thick or thin, straight or curved, as necessity indicates.

The size of the cell is just right to permit the bee to enter freely and in cold weather the cluster will form over empty cells just below the winter stores. With a bee resting in every empty cell the compact mass is able to conserve the heat to greatest advantage and to move slowly upward as the honey is consumed.

Who will explain how the bee came to adopt a form of construction so near to perfection, while at the same time the individual cells serve her every need? In them she stores her honey and pollen. In them she lays her eggs and rears her young. In them she rests during cold weather while surrounded by a cluster of her fellows. She is encumbered with no useless furniture, no bric-a-brac to gather dust and mold. A thousand times more economical than a human habitation there is nothing lacking in comfort or convenience. Every need of the community is served; there is a place for everything and no accumulation of useless plunder to burden and harass the housekeeper.

Like Reaumur, we must conclude that if she is not intelligent, she springs from intelligence beyond our understanding.