The following is quoted for review purposes only:

The aim of our experiments was to observe whether the bees store honey in the inverted honeycombs and, if so, what happens to the honey. The bees stored honey in the inverted honeycombs in very much the same way as in the neighboring normally oriented honeycombs. After 17 to 23 days, the inverted honeycombs were full and capped. No leakage of honey could be detected at the inverted honeycombs at any time.

After extracting the honey from the comb and after cleaning by the bees, an inverted honeycomb was hung into the brood chamber of a colony kept in a hive consisting of 2/3 Langstroth hive bodies for both the brood and honey. The queen immediately created breeding areas with only few gaps (Figure 6) on both sides of the inverted honeycomb. The inverted honeycomb was incubated several times. This refutes the claim of Müllenhoff (1883) that honey bees do not accept inverted combs for the rearing of the brood.

The inclination of all cells, which are not directly near the ceiling, is always observed in the combs of Apis mellifera . We therefore assume that the upward inclination has a meaning. We showed that the purpose is not to prevent the leakage of honey and that it is also not a requirement for rearing the brood. Then, what is the point?

Honeybees build combs with minimal wax consumption and maximum strength and capacity. The multipurpose use of the combs comprises raising the brood, storing the stocks, and the communication of the bees through their vibration characteristics. The inclination angle of about 13° upwards seems to be the best compromise for the bees between increasing the carrying strength of the honeycomb and the provision of a cell volume adapted to the requirement of the brood.

Oeder, R., & Schwabe, D. (2020). The upward tilt of honeycomb cells increases the carrying capacity of the comb and is not to prevent the outflow of honey. Apidologie, 1-12

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