ArticlePLoS biology2025
Honeybees adapt to a range of comb cell sizes by merging, tilting, and layering their construction.
Article in PLoS biology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Honeycomb construction on designed foundations reveals geometry-dependent developmental pathways.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Honeybee adaptability to square comb foundation.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Honeybee comb geometry emerges from local redistribution of angular space by worker construction activity.npj entomology · 2026Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Honeybees are renowned for their skills in building intricate and adaptive combs that display notable variation in cell size. However, the extent of their adaptability in constructing honeycombs with varied cell sizes has not been thoroughly investigated. We use 3D-printing and X-ray microscopy to quantify honeybees' capacity in adjusting the comb to different initial conditions. Our findings suggest three distinct comb construction modes in response to foundations with varying sizes of 3D-printed cells. For smaller foundations, bees occasionally merge adjacent cells to compensate for the reduced space. However, for larger cell sizes, the hive uses adaptive strategies such as tilting for foundations with cells up to twice the reference size and layering for cells that are three times larger than the reference cell. Our findings shed light on honeybees adaptive comb construction abilities, significant for the biology of self-organized collective behavior, as well as for bio-inspired engineered systems.
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Registered trials
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