Bees in Hive

 

Honeybee societies are highly co-operative structures, looking for thousands of solutions and taking decisions in absence of any superior brain or a nervous system connecting and controlling components of the system, because these societies are Organised in a different decentralised way. They run Self-Organised and as Complex systems that consists of many interacting subsystems, spontaneously forming structures and “patterns” under specific conditions, on the basis of which these Self-Organising processes can be studied and analyzed.

 

Beeswax and Honeycomb

The honeycomb is the inner house of honey bees, where the young bees are raised and where the hive’s food is stored. Comb is built out of beeswax, which is produced only by young worker bees. Glands on the undersides of the bodies of these young bees can produce wax. Worker bees chew this wax and work on them to form the comb. The newly constructed comb is beautifully white in color, but may also be light yellow when bees get nectar some flowers like golden rod. The comb becomes darker over time, because as each new bee is born, it sheds its skin and this becomes part of the cell. Also, bees collect propolis, which can make the comb darker. The comb consists of many small, six-sided tubes (cells) built side by side. The floor of the cells slopes slightly downward to the bottom and is shaped like a three-sided pyramid pointing away from the cell opening. This small slope is necessary so that the substances put into the cell do not slide out of it. There are three different cell sizes. The large drone bee is hatched from an egg and grows to adulthood in the larger of the two cells (drone cell). The smaller, worker bee grows in the slightly smaller worker cell. Worker cells that are full of eggs, developing larvae, and pupae are usually found in the central part of the comb (brood area). The third cell size is the queen cell. Bordering the brood area is a narrow strip of worker cells where pollen is stored. Pollen is an important food for the larva growing in the brood area cells, because it is the source of the bees’ protein and because it is rich in fat. The field bees collect pollen in the form of tiny pellets from flowers and carry it back to the hive by putting it in small, basket like pouches on their back legs. This pollen varies in color, depending on the type of flower from which it came. A cell is never completely filled with pollen but only until it is about 3/4 full. Sometimes they add a little honey to the pollen to preserve it. This makes the pollen look wet. This storage method maintains the freshness of the pollen for a long time. The outer edges of comb beyond the narrow pollen storage area are used for ripening and storing honey. Between each comb, the bees leave a space about 3/8-inch wide. If the space between combs is much wider or narrower, the bees will close it up with wax and bee glue. Besides the honeycomb, you are certain to find another important substance in the hive. This is bee glue (propolis). Propolis is a very sticky brown material that the bees use for many purposes: holding down the hive lid, covering the inside walls of the hive, fastening frames, strengthening comb, plugging holes, and, sometimes, narrowing the entrance. Field bees gather propolis from various plant buds, picking up such sticky substances as pitch from pine trees.