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Date: | Thu, 31 Aug 1995 22:09:07 -0500 |
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On Wed, 30 Aug 1995, Kevin Roddy wrote:
> Hello all--
>
> A professor at the university asked me to forward this request to you.
> I'm a reference librarian, and beekeeper myself in Puna, on the Island of
> Hawai'i.
>
> Kevin--
>
>
> I am looking for *documented references* to books, periodicals
> or research reports which give answers to the following question:
>
>
> What makes the cells of honeybee combs hexagonal?
>
>
> I'm not especially interested in unreferenced opinions
> unless they're from apiculturists (bee people). I have plenty of
> unreferenced opinions of my own. But I would welcome opinions from
> apiculturalists, or information they may have found when reading
> about bees (even ifthese reference are out of date.)
>
> The two main theories are 1) Geometry: bees try to make
> cylindrical cells, but close-packing forces the cells into
> hexagonal shapes, and 2) Instinct: that bees have a specific
> instinct to build hexagons when cells are near each other.
> (Single queen cells are cylindrical.)
>
> Buffon argued for geometry in the 1750s, Lord Brougham for
> instinct in the 1830s, D'Arcy Thompson for geometry in 1913, and
> von Frisch for instinct in 1974.
>
> Does anyone know of further references or for scholars who are
> currently or have recently examined this problem (either in published
> form or unpublished manuscripts?
>
> You may send mail directly to me at the e-mail address below.
>
> Thank you in advance for any information you can provide.
>
> Ron Amundson
> Univ. of Hawaii at Hilo
> Hilo, HI 96720
> [log in to unmask]
>
Sometimes it is instuctive to look at the negative. What other shapes
could they reasonably make?
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Keith Murray * Don't worry about people stealing
St.Mary's Academy * an idea. If it's original, you
550 Wellington cres. * will have to ram it down their
Winnipeg, Manitoba * throats. -H. Aiken
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