RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Honeycomb crystallography: Experiment–theory approach for bee comb formation under geometric frustrations
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2022.03.13.484106
DO 10.1101/2022.03.13.484106
A1 Golnar Gharooni Fard
A1 Daisy Zhang
A1 Francisco López Jiménez
A1 Orit Peleg
YR 2022
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2022/03/15/2022.03.13.484106.abstract
AB As honeybees build their nests in pre-existing tree cavities, they grow accustomed to dealing with the presence of geometric constraints, resulting in non-regular hexagons and topological defects. In this work, we study how bees collectively adapt to their environment in order to regulate the comb structure. Specifically, we identify the irregularities in honeycomb structure in the presence of various geometric frustrations. We 3D-print experimental frames with a variety of constraints imposed on the imprinted foundations. The combs constructed by the bees show clear evidence of reoccurring patterns built by bees in response to specific geometric frustrations on starter frames. Furthermore, we demonstrate that these patterns can be successfully modeled and replicated through a simulated annealing process, in which the minimized potential is a variation of the Lennard-Jones potential that only considers first-neighbor interactions according to a Delaunay triangulation. Our simulation results not only confirm the connection between honeycomb structures and other crystal systems such as graphene, but also show that irregularities in the honeycomb structure can be explained as the result of local interactions between honeybees and their immediate surroundings, leading to emergent global order. Additionally, our computational model can be used to describe specific strategies that bees use to effectively solve each geometric mismatch problem while optimizing cost of comb building.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.