Bees construct complex homes called hives, which are central to a colony’s survival and prosperity. Understanding the process and factors involved in hive construction reveals the cooperative behavior inherent in these creatures.
Hive Structure and Purpose
A hive is an enclosed structure housing a honey bee colony, serving as their home where they raise young and produce honey. The internal architecture consists of hexagonal cells crafted from beeswax, known as honeycomb. These hexagonal cells are used to store food, including honey and pollen, and to house the brood, which includes eggs, larvae, and pupae.
Hives provide shelter and support the bees’ social organization. They are crucial for honey production, as bees convert nectar into honey and store it within the honeycomb. The hive also functions as a nursery for developing bees and is maintained by worker bees who build and repair the comb. The hexagonal shape of the cells maximizes storage space while minimizing the amount of wax required for construction.
How Bees Build Their Hives
Worker bees, particularly those between 12 and 20 days old, are primarily responsible for producing the beeswax used in construction. These bees possess special wax-secreting glands on the undersides of their abdomens. The glands convert sugar from honey into a waxy substance, which then oozes out as small, clear flakes or scales. Approximately 1,100 of these wax scales are needed to produce one gram of wax.
Once secreted, the wax flakes are collected by other bees or the producing bee itself, chewed, and mixed with saliva to make them pliable. Bees then shape this softened wax into hexagonal cells. While bees initially build wax cylinders, the warmth from their bodies causes the wax to soften, and surface tension pulls these circular structures into the hexagonal shape as they are closely packed. The comb is built downward, with cells being added to existing ones.
Influences on Construction Time
Several factors influence how quickly bees can build their comb and expand their hive. Colony size plays a significant role; a larger colony with more worker bees can produce wax and build comb at a faster rate. A queen bee can lay up to 2,000 eggs per day during peak season, contributing to rapid population growth that necessitates more comb. The availability of nectar is also a key factor, as bees require a substantial amount of nectar to produce beeswax; it takes approximately 6 to 8 pounds of honey consumed by bees to yield just one pound of wax.
Environmental conditions, such as temperature and humidity, also affect construction speed. Bees maintain a consistent hive temperature, typically between 33 to 36 degrees Celsius (91 to 97 degrees Fahrenheit), which is optimal for manipulating wax. If the hive is too cold, the wax becomes brittle, while excessive heat can cause it to drip. Different bee species may also exhibit variations in their natural building rates and preferences for hive configurations.
Common Hive Building Timelines
The time it takes for bees to build a hive varies depending on the circumstances. A new swarm, which is a portion of a colony leaving to establish a new home, needs to build comb rapidly to create a nursery for the queen’s eggs and store resources. A newly established colony can take anywhere from 7 days to 2 months to build its initial honeycomb and fill it with honey. The initial phase of comb drawing can be as quick as 7 days, especially when there is an abundant nectar flow.
An established colony can expand its comb much faster, particularly during a strong nectar flow. A robust colony can draw out a full 10-frame deep box and fill it with honey in as little as 3 days, sometimes even within 24 hours. Subsequent comb expansion occurs more steadily, and a strong colony might build an additional layer of comb, known as a shallow super, in about a week to 10 days. Repairing damaged sections of comb is also a continuous process, with worker bees constantly maintaining and rebuilding parts of the hive.