The Bees' Nest
Session 2
The Bees' Nest
- A sheet of comb is made up of thousands adjoining, hexagonal-shaped cells.
- Usually cells are built on both sides of a sheet of comb; i.e. double sided.
- Scales of wax are produced from the abdominal wax glands of the worker bees and formed into shape with their jaws.
- Several sheets of comb are built side by side. The space between combs is 6-10 mm, called the Bee Space.
- The number of combs, size, form and shape is adjusted to the available cavity space.
- The comb cells provide protection for brood and serve as storage containers for honey and pollen.
- Natural comb cell size: Worker cells 4.6 - 5.1 mm, Drone cells 6.4 - 6.6 mm in diameter.
- Manufactured comb foundation cell size: Worker cells 5.4 - 5.5 mm (larger than the bees would build it). source
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