Honeybees Adaptability to Square Comb Foundation

Honeybees Adaptability to Square Comb Foundation | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Honeybees Adaptability to Square Comb Foundation Hiroyuki Shima, Maika M. Hayashi, Tadashi Kunieda, Makoto Honda, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8735919/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 28 Mar, 2026 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted 10 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract In beekeeping, hexagonal comb foundation sheets made of beeswax are provided to bees beforehand to encourage them to build regular honeycomb cells. The practice exploits the bee instinct to construct cells of a specific size -- a regular hexagon roughly the size of a bee head -- when building their nests. However, the nest-building behaviour exhibited by honeybees when presented with foundation sheets that differ from their instinctively preferred shapes and sizes remains unclear. Here, we aimed to investigate the ability of bees to adapt to extremely strong honeycomb cell geometry disturbance. To this end, foundation sheets composed of square indentations were provided to honeybees and their subsequent nest-building activities were observed periodically. Notably, honeybees keenly perceived the size and arrangement of the squares carved into the comb foundation and constructed different types of combs depending on the differences. The findings of the present study enhance our understanding of the mechanisms via which high-order hexagon honeycombs are constructed. Physical sciences/Engineering Physical sciences/Materials science Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 28 Mar, 2026 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 05 Mar, 2026 Reviews received at journal 05 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 05 Mar, 2026 Reviews received at journal 03 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 21 Feb, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 11 Feb, 2026 Editor invited by journal 05 Feb, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 03 Feb, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 03 Feb, 2026 First submitted to journal 29 Jan, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8735919","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":590211914,"identity":"8a0b674d-9767-41d7-a837-74d6325d1f97","order_by":0,"name":"Hiroyuki Shima","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA+klEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACAwYehgMMDDYw/gEeMCVBWEsaiVqA4DBcC2GHmfOfPXjoRs35xP5ph589+PHnjgwD++EHDJY7cGuxnJGXcDjn2O3EGbfTzA17257xMPCkGTBInsHjsBs8Bodz2G4nNtxOMJPgbTgMdGcOA4NkGx4t588Atfw7lzj/dvo3yT9/gFr43xDQciDH4HBu24HEDbdzzKR52IBaJAjZcgOkpS/ZeOPtnDJp2bbDPGwSzwwO4PXL+TPGn3O+2cnOu52+TfLNn8P2/PzJDx9L4gkxGHBsgLHYgPiwZANOlXBgj8Jj/EiEllEwCkbBKBgxAACEF1iHy9LdeQAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"University of Yamanashi","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Hiroyuki","middleName":"","lastName":"Shima","suffix":""},{"id":590211915,"identity":"4c6f7356-a5f0-46bf-8626-ca9c487f3ba3","order_by":1,"name":"Maika M. 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