As part of my general interest in natural structures and materials, I have
been carrying out structural analyses of cells and combs
of the honeybee ( using finite element methods ). The computer models that
I have been using up until now use simplified
material and geometry data. To improve on this, I would be grateful if
anyone could direct me to a contact or reference for the
following information ....
(a)     Mechanical properties of wax ie it's constitutive relations ( I
appreciate that it shall be variable and temperature dependent )
        Is it viscoelastic or bimodular ? Has anyone carried out any
tensile or compressive tests ?
(b)     Information on shape, size and thickness variability in comb that
has not been produced from foundation.
(c)     How do the bees build the comb .... any videos or textual
descriptions ?