How Do Bees Make Honeycomb?
Q: How do bees make honeycomb?
A: Bees make honeycomb by secreting wax from glands on their abdomen. Worker bees chew and soften the wax scales, then shape the material into hexagonal cells. These cells are arranged in a double-sided sheet and serve as storage for honey, pollen, and a nursery for brood (eggs, larvae, pupae).
What Is Honeycomb?
Honeycomb is a structural matrix of wax built by worker bees inside the hive.
It consists of:
- Uniform hexagonal cells
- Made entirely of beeswax
- Constructed in vertical sheets or frames
Each hexagonal cell is used for:
- Storing honey
- Storing pollen (as bee bread)
- Housing eggs, larvae, and pupae (brood)
Honeycomb is both a food storage facility and a nursery, making it one of the most important parts of the hive.
Why Do Bees Build Honeycomb?
Honeycomb serves multiple essential purposes:
| Purpose | Description |
|---|---|
| Brood chamber | Cells serve as incubators for developing bees |
| Food storage | Cells hold nectar (which becomes honey) and pollen |
| Insulation | Wax structure regulates temperature and moisture |
| Communication | Bees use vibrations and scent cues transmitted through comb |
Bees only build honeycomb when there’s space, food supply, and colony need. The process is energy-intensive and requires large amounts of honey.
Which Bees Build Honeycomb?
Only worker bees build honeycomb.
More specifically:
- Bees aged 12–18 days produce wax using glands under their abdomen
- These bees are part of the “house bee” phase of life
- Older bees become foragers and no longer produce wax
Step-by-Step: How Bees Make Honeycomb
1. Wax Production
- Bees consume honey or nectar as energy.
- Sugar is metabolised and converted into liquid wax inside the bee’s wax glands.
- The wax is secreted through eight glands on abdominal segments 4 to 7.
- As the wax exits, it solidifies into small white wax scales on the bee’s belly.
A single bee may produce eight scales per day, each weighing about 0.8 mg.
2. Wax Scale Removal and Processing
- The bee uses her hind legs to remove wax scales from her abdomen.
- The scale is passed forward to the mandibles (mouthparts).
- The wax is chewed, softened, and mixed with saliva, making it pliable.
3. Comb Construction Begins
- The bee deposits softened wax onto a foundation (frame or surface).
- Multiple bees work side by side, shaping the wax into a sheet of hexagonal cells.
- The comb is usually built downward, anchored to the hive ceiling or a top bar.
4. Formation of Hexagonal Cells
Bees instinctively shape wax into hexagons because it:
- Uses the least amount of wax per volume stored
- Maximises space efficiency
- Creates strong, interlocking walls
Hexagonal cells are created by the combined movement of multiple bees working in warm conditions (~35°C).
5. Dual-Sided Comb Building
- Honeycomb sheets are built on both sides of a central wax wall.
- This allows efficient use of space and easier hive thermoregulation.
- Bees build multiple comb sheets parallel to one another, separated by “bee space” (~6–9 mm), which allows bees to pass through.
Honeycomb Construction
White wax is newly formed and very soft. It darkens with age and use, especially after brood is raised in the cells.
How Much Wax Does It Take to Build Honeycomb?
Honeycomb building is energy-expensive:
| Input | Output |
|---|---|
| 6–8 kg honey | Produces 1 kg beeswax |
| 1 kg beeswax | Builds around 100,000 hexagonal cells |
| Single cell | Takes ~0.5 mg wax to construct |
That’s why bees build honeycomb only when necessary and reuse or repair old comb when possible.
Comb Colour and Use
| Colour | Meaning |
|---|---|
| White/Light Yellow | Freshly secreted wax, unused |
| Golden Yellow | Used for honey storage |
| Brown | Used for pollen storage or after repeated reuse |
| Dark Brown/Black | Used for brood over multiple generations |
Older comb is more fragile and may be rotated out by beekeepers to maintain hive hygiene.
What Happens Inside Honeycomb Cells?
| Cell Use | Contents |
|---|---|
| Brood cells | Egg → larva → pupa → adult bee |
| Honey cells | Nectar dehydrated into honey, sealed with wax |
| Pollen cells | Bee bread stored for larval food |
Bees clean and prepare each cell before reusing it for a new purpose.
Do All Bees Make Honeycomb?
Only certain species of bees produce recognisable honeycomb structures:
| Bee Type | Honeycomb? |
|---|---|
| Apis mellifera (Western honeybee) | Yes |
| Stingless bees (Meliponini) | Yes, but irregular patterns |
| Bumblebees | Produce wax pots, not hexagonal comb |
| Solitary bees | No comb — they nest in tubes or soil |
Do Beekeepers Harvest Honeycomb?
Yes. Beekeepers can:
- Extract raw honeycomb for direct sale
- Cut comb and sell it as-is (common in natural honey markets)
- Harvest old comb to melt and purify into beeswax blocks
Beekeepers must manage comb age and health, rotating out old or dark comb every few seasons.
Honeycomb FAQ
Q: How do bees know how to build hexagons?
A: Bees don’t plan the shape. Heat, positioning, and cooperative behaviour naturally lead to hexagonal formation due to surface tension and pressure dynamics.
Q: Can bees reuse old honeycomb?
A: Yes. Bees clean and repurpose comb for new brood or food storage, especially in resource-scarce periods.
Q: How long does it take bees to build a comb?
A: In strong colonies with good nectar flow, bees can build a full comb sheet in a few days to a week.
Q: Is it okay to eat honeycomb?
A: Yes. Honeycomb is edible, including the wax. Many people chew it like gum or spread it on bread.
Q: Why does honeycomb get dark?
A: Repeated use for brood rearing and pollen storage causes discolouration from larvae casings and propolis buildup.
Why Honeycomb Matters
Honeycomb is the foundation of hive life. Without it, there is no:
- Place to raise young
- Storage for honey and pollen
- Structure to support thousands of bees
Understanding how bees build and use honeycomb helps beekeepers manage hive space, monitor colony health, and ensure productivity.
For consumers, it offers insight into how complex behaviour emerges from simple biological processes.
In South Africa, honeycomb construction follows the same biological process as elsewhere, but traditional beekeepers often harvest whole comb honey from log hives, clay pots, or horizontal top-bar hives, reflecting indigenous practices still used in rural areas.
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