Honey bees make their homes in trees, but they construct a “nest” within a naturally occurring cavity, not a “hive.” This distinction is important for understanding their architecture and survival strategies. While honey bees seek out protected tree hollows, most other common bee species choose entirely different locations.
Why Honey Bees Choose Tree Cavities
Honey bee colonies demonstrate a sophisticated selection process when choosing a tree cavity for their nest. They prefer a confined space offering excellent protection from the elements and predators. Scout bees look for cavities with an ideal volume of around 40 liters, generally avoiding spaces smaller than 10 liters or larger than 100 liters.
The wood surrounding the hollow provides significant insulation, a major factor in the colony’s survival. This superior insulation, often six times greater than a typical thin-walled wooden hive, helps the bees maintain the precise temperature required for raising brood. It also minimizes the amount of honey they must consume to generate heat during colder months.
The nest entrance is typically a single, small opening, often a knothole, which the bees may further reduce and seal with propolis. They prefer to establish their home high off the ground, ideally around three meters or more, providing a defensible position. Once settled, the bees construct multiple parallel sheets of hexagonal wax comb inside the hollow, suspended from the top of the cavity.
Clarifying the Difference Between Nests and Hives
The terms “nest” and “hive” are often used interchangeably, but they refer to fundamentally different structures. A bee nest is the naturally constructed home a colony builds for itself without human intervention. This includes the comb built within a tree hollow, a rock crevice, or another naturally protected space.
A beehive, by contrast, is a man-made structure, generally a series of stacked wooden boxes, provided by humans for beekeeping. While the bees build the same hexagonal wax comb inside both, the surrounding container is the defining difference.
Modern beekeeping hives are designed with movable frames, allowing beekeepers to inspect the colony and harvest honey with minimal disruption. A natural nest, however, has fixed comb that is attached directly to the walls of the cavity. Therefore, honey bees build a nest within a tree, but they occupy a hive when housed by a person.
Where Other Common Bees Build Their Homes
Honey bees are one of many bee species, and their tree-nesting habit is not universal. Most of the world’s bee species are solitary and do not form large colonies or use tree cavities. For instance, solitary mining bees build their nests in the ground, burrowing tunnels into light, sandy, or well-drained soil.
These solitary females dig individual nests, sometimes leaving small volcano-shaped mounds of excavated earth at the entrance. Other solitary species, such as mason bees and leafcutter bees, are cavity-nesters. They utilize pre-existing small tunnels, seeking out holes in dead wood, hollow plant stems, or crevices in stone walls.
Bumblebees, which are social like honey bees, also avoid tree cavities for their nests. They typically make their homes underground, often taking advantage of abandoned mouse or rodent burrows. They may also nest in dense clumps of grass or beneath sheds, using soft materials to construct their home.