3 ms·
Is this the generally accepted explanation now? (I thought so, but the article itself doesn't mention it - then again, the article seems full of pseudo-science)
by stinos 9y ago
Is this the generally accepted explanation now? (I thought so, but the article itself doesn't mention it - then again, the article seems full of pseudo-science)
- cygx 9y agoNot sure if bees might do it this way - but just looking at pictures of early stages of nests such as [1] or [2], wasps apparently don't: It looks as if they do construct proper hexagons from the get-go. [1] http://www.localhoney.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/start-of-small-wasp-nest.jpg http://www.localhoney.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/start... [2] http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uM7ATVMEcDA/TdcWZm9BPEI/AAAAAAAAI8w/9q7bDCoP34E/s1600/2.jpg http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uM7ATVMEcDA/TdcWZm9BPEI/AAAAAAAAI8...
- stinos 9y agoGood find, that definitely looks hexagonal from the start.
- dt_rsp 9y agoJürgen Tautz's "The Buzz about Bees" mentions this. It says the bees build cylindrical cells around themselves initially, but then raise the temperature of the wax to 37-40 degrees C, when the wax is warm enough to flow into the hexagonal shapes. (Pages 172-176)