What do we call a shape that has exactly six sides?

A hexagon is a shape with exactly six sides. This is the shape bees use for their honeycomb cells.

Why is the hexagon the best shape for the bees to use?

Hexagons fit together perfectly without gaps and use the least amount of wax to hold the most honey.

Before the cells turn into perfect hexagons, what shape do the bees build first?

Bees actually start by building round tubes that look like drinking straws. The warm wax later presses together into hexagons.

How big do bees naturally want to make each hexagon cell?

Bees have an instinct to build regular hexagons that are roughly the size of a bee head.

What did bees do when scientists gave them a square base to build on?

The bees noticed the squares right away and changed their building style to try and fix the shape.

The Honeycomb Cells

The Busy Life of Honeybees — illustrated by honeycomb cross-section with pollen-dusted specimens and wax cells, Victorian botanical illustration style. — **The Busy Life of Honeybees**

Honeybees work very hard every day. They collect sweet nectar from flowers. They bring this nectar back to the hive.

They need a safe place to store food. They build a special home. We call this home a honeycomb.

A honeycomb looks like a big yellow net. It hangs inside the dark hive. Bees build the honeycomb out of beeswax.

Bees make this wax with their own bodies. They use their legs and mouths to work. They chew the wax.

The wax becomes soft. Then they shape the wax into tiny cups. We call these tiny cups cells. The bees will put nectar in these cells later.

The Six-Sided Shape

Look closely at a honeycomb. You will see a beautiful repeating pattern. The cells are not round like soup bowls.

They are not square like cardboard boxes. Each cell has exactly six sides. We call a shape with six sides a hexagon.

The cells look like pieces in a puzzle game. They fit together perfectly side by side. There are no empty spaces between them.

People have wondered about this shape for a long time.

In the source’s own words · reading level Grade 3

More than 2000 years ago, Greek scholars referred to "the geometrical forethought" of bees in constructing the most efficient structure to hold honey.

In plain terms: very old thinkers believed bees were smart at math. They thought bees planned the best storage method.

Comparing the Shapes

Why do bees use hexagons? Why not other shapes? Let us compare some common shapes.

Shape	Leaves Gaps?	Saves Wax?
Circle	Yes	No
Triangle	No	No
Square	No	No
Hexagon	No	Yes

Building a honeycomb takes a lot of hard work. Bees want to save their energy. They need to use the smallest amount of wax.

But they want to hold the most honey. Think about round circles. Circles leave big gaps between them.

Gaps waste precious space in the hive. Now think about triangles or squares. They fit together without any gaps.

But they use too much wax for the walls. Hexagons are the perfect choice. They lock together tight.

They use the least amount of wax . They create the most space inside to hold honey . This makes the hexagon the best shape.

How Bees Make the Cells

How do bees make these perfect shapes? Scientists study this fun puzzle. Bees actually start with round tubes .

These tubes are shaped like tiny drinking straws. The bees pack these round tubes close together. The hive gets very warm from the bees.

The bees move around a lot. The wax gets soft and squishy. The warm tubes press into each other.

The round walls flatten out. They slowly turn into six-sided shapes . It is like squishing round soap bubbles together.

Have you ever blown bubbles in the bath? Many bubbles touch each other. They stop being round.

They share flat walls to save space. The beeswax does the exact same thing. The bees do not even need rulers. Their building steps create the shape naturally .

Smart Little Builders

Bees have a strong instinct to build. An instinct is a natural feeling. They know the exact size for each cell.

They make the hexagon roughly the size of a bee head . Sometimes the hive has a weird shape. A tree might have bumps inside.

The bees must fix the problem. They change the cell shape . They are very good at solving space puzzles.

Scientists tried a fun test. They gave bees a square base . The bees noticed the squares right away.

They changed their building style . The scientists watched the bees closely. The bees did not give up.

They still tried to make their favorite hexagons! They worked hard to fix the weird squares. The honeycomb is a wonderful creation.

It is strong and very useful. Soon, the bees will fill these wax cells. They will fan their wings to make honey.

Key Terms

Honeycomb — A large wax structure built by bees to hold their food and babies.
Cell — A tiny wax cup inside the honeycomb where bees store nectar.
Hexagon — A shape that has exactly six sides.
Instinct — A natural feeling or behavior that an animal is born knowing how to do.