Gordon Scott wrote
 
> Well, I'm a beekeeper and an engineer, so I guess I could
> venture an unreferenced opinion ;-)
>
> Throw a handfull of matching sized ballbearings into a
> tray and look at the pattern that naturally results.
>
> Consider that nature likes efficiency.
>
> Put your hand on your heart, look me straight in the virtual
> eye, and tell me that nature isn't just being efficient here!
 
Hei!
I'm also an engineer by profession and my thoughts are the same as
Gordon's.
I have been using an empty frame in the brood chamber as a "swarm
barometer" and so have reasonable quantities of new comb built
without foundation, that is the bees were not given any pattern to
work too. Upon examination of this comb I saw something
interesting----
 
First, imagine an array of geometrically perfect  hexagonal cells where each
cell wall has constant thickness.
Second, imagine an array of cylindrical cells packed together in the
same way as Gordon's ball bearings.....
 
My comb did *not* match either pattern, it was somewhere between the
two ie. nearly hexagonal but with the edges of each hexagon weakly curved so that
the cell walls were not of constant thickness
This to me indicates that Gordon's "theory" is probably right and the
"geometric" hexagons are a function of our way of looking at and
thinking about comb and actually  result from the
distortion of tightly packed  cylinders caused by economic use of wax
for the cell walls!
 
Why the bees obey the law that nature likes efficiency is of course
another matter!
 
Cheers Tony.
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Anthony N. Morgan (Tony)                 Fax: +47 73 89 62 86
"Stavshagen"                          E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Midtsandan                               Sor-Trondelag College
7563 MALVIK                              Elec. Eng. Department
Norway                                   7005 TRONDHEIM, Norway
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