Supporting data for: Adaptive cell size, merging, tilting, and layering in Honeybee comb construction

Honeybees are renowned for their skills in building intricate and adaptive
hives that display notable variation in cell size. However, the extent of
their adaptability in constructing honeycombs with varied cell sizes has
not been investigated thoroughly. We use 3D-printing and X-ray Microscopy
to quantify honeybees' capacity in adjusting the comb to different
initial conditions. Using the average area of natural worker cells as a
reference, our findings suggest three distinct construction modes when
faced with foundations of varying cell sizes. For smaller cell size, bees
occasionally merge cells to compensate for the reduced space. However, for
larger cell sizes, the hive uses adaptive strategies like tilting for
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 strategies with potential to find
applications in additive manufacturing, bio-inspired materials, and
entomology.