Page 144 - The Miracle of the Honeybee

142 THE MIRACLE OF THE HONEYBEE

How are the Dimensions of the Identical Cells
Comprising the Comb Established?

The construction of the comb is a miracle all by itself. The combs con-
sist of identical, exceptionally regular hexagonal cells, and offer yet an-
other indication of the superior intelligence manifested in bees.
Bees begin constructing a comb from the top and work downwards
from two or three different spots. The construction of the comb widens out
towards both sides and joins to the other two rows. This work is per-
formed in such a harmonious and regular manner, in fact, that it is impos-
sible to tell where the three different parts join together. The pieces of the

comb built from separate starting points are so regular that, despite con-
sisting of hundreds of cells and having hundreds of angles, they look like
one single structure. No joins can be seen. This reveals that bees do not set
about this task randomly, but calculate the distances between their start-
ing and end points beforehand. The width of the cells for honey, pollen
and larvae is also standardized at from 5.2 to 5.4 millimeters (0.20 to 0.21
inch). Only the cells for male bees are larger, at 6.2 to 6.4 millimeters (0.24
to 0.25 inch). 128
A bee measures the width and thickness of the comb cells thanks to its
sensitive receptor hairs (sensilla trichodea), which are concentrated
mainly on the mouth and antennae. It has been established that on one
single bee’s antenna, there are about 8,500 sensilla trichodea and some
500,000 receptor cells. 129 Using these hairs, the bee measures the thickness
of the cell walls she makes. In making these calculations, she behaves ex-

ceedingly carefully. A bee adding wax to a cell constantly pushes the wall,
determining its elasticity and thickness according to its movement. As a
result of all these processes, a miraculous situation transpires. The thick-
ness of the comb wall built by all the bees is 0.07 millimeters (0.0028 inch),
and deviates from this by only 0.002 millimeter (two-thousandths of a mil-
limeter). 130
No seams can be seen in the comb. It is as if these cells were produced in
a single sheet. This is most astonishing, because in fact a large number of
bees start from different points, making separate series of cells.