Greetings
I have at my disposal, the entire Gleanings from the 1970's on and the
American Bee Journal from 1900 on. I looked into the possibility that the
orientation of cells was discussed during the 1920's as several have
suggested. I couldn't find anything in the indexes. Sorry.

But these journals make great reading! Here are some samples:

Q: Is it true that when bees build their combs naturally in box hives they
build them exactly north and south?

A: No. Bees build combs in various directions when not guided by comb
foundation. In fact, in the same hive they often build their combs in
several directions. Evidently the bees do not recognize the directions of
the compass in comb-building. (Gleanings, De. 1927)

* * *
Combs Horizontally Between Hive Bodies. -- Last June during the
commencement of the honey flow we tried an experiment with eight colonies
... [Horizontally] we laid two frames filled with drawn brood combs which
had been wired and were old and strong. When the combs were in place a good
bee-space was maintained above and below the combs, the combs were empty
but were soon used by the queens. Eggs and brood were soon found in both
the upper and lower sides, some honey was also stored ... later queen cell
cups were built on the underside and also other parts of the hive. Also,
many brace combs were built up under the horizontal combs, the bees having
the idea that these combs were liable to sag down and needed some supports,
or they needed some step ladders to walk up. (ABJ, June 1917)

* * *
Even though certain strains of bees have been kept, watched over and in a
certain sense domesticated for years, they show no results of training in
comb building. Without wax guides, they immediately revert to their
instinct of building comb in various fashions, crossing from one empty
frame to the other, as though they had never bee given a rule by man. Odd
spaces and corner are filled with comb of indescribable shapes. (ABJ, June
1926)


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