ArticleJournal of insect science (Online)2021
Evaluating and Comparing the Natural Cell Structure and Dimensions of Honey Bee Comb Cells of Chinese Bee, Apis cerana cerana (Hymenoptera: Apidae) and Italian Bee, Apis mellifera ligustica (Hymenoptera: Apidae).
Article in Journal of insect science (Online), 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 30 citations in OpenAlex.
- Honeybees adapt to a range of comb cell sizes by merging, tilting, and layering their construction.PLoS biology · 2025Article
- An Overview of the Adverse Impacts of Old Combs on Honeybee Colonies and Recommended Beekeeping Management Strategies.Insects · 2025Review
- Article
- Use of Relay Method for Enhancing Comb Construction byInsects · 2025Article
- Bee wisdom: exploring bee control strategies for food microflora by comparing the physicochemical characteristics and microbial composition of beebread.Microbiology spectrum · 2023Article
- Metric and Spectral Insight into Bee-Pollen-to-Bee-Bread Transformation Process.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Sub-cell scale features govern the placement of new cells by honeybees during comb construction.Journal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
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Abstract
The hexagonal structure of the honey bee comb cell has been the source of many studies attempting to understand its structure and function. In the storage area of the comb, only honey is stored and no brood is reared. We predicted that honey bees may construct different hexagonal cells for brood rearing and honey storage. We used quantitative analyses to evaluate the structure and function of the natural comb cell in the Chinese bee, Apis cerana cerana and the Italian bee, A. mellifera ligustica. We made cell molds using a crystal glue solution and measured the structure and inclination of cells. We found that the comb cells of A. c. cerana had both upward-sloping and downward-sloping cells; while the A. m. ligustica cells all tilted upwards. Interestingly, the cells did not conform to the regular hexagonal prism structure and showed irregular diameter sizes. In both species, comb cells also were differentiated into worker, drone and honey cells, differing in their diameter and depth. This study revealed unique differences in the structure and function of comb cells and showed that honey bees design their cells with precise engineering to increase storage capacity, and to create adequate growing room for their brood.
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