The Miracle of the Beehive
The Architectural Genius of Honey Bees
Dear readers, did you know that honey bees are not only famous as small animals that produce honey, but are also famous as "genius" living creatures? As animals, honey bees live in colonies (group) in nests that they build themselves with great care. In each hive, there are thousands of hexagonal or hexagon-shaped bags made to store honey. Have we ever thought, why do they make them hexagonal shaped pockets.
Why are Beehives Hexagonal?
Mathematicians are also looking for answers to this question. Apparently, after doing long calculations, they found a very interesting answer. Namely, that the best way to build a storage warehouse with the largest capacity and using as few building materials as possible is to make hexagonal walls. Because according to them, if the bees build storage sacs in the form of tubes or triangular prisms, empty gaps will form between one sac and another. Moreover, less honey is stored in it. Triangular or square honey bags can be made without leaving any gaps, but mathematicians are aware of one important thing. Of all these geometric shapes, the one with the smallest perimeter is the hexagonal. For this reason, even though the shapes cover the same area, less material is required to construct a hexagonal compared to a square or triangle. This hexagonal cell/chamber design is very practical in many ways. The cells fit perfectly when arranged and share one wall together. Again, this ensures maximum storage with minimal materials. Apart from the side walls of the cells, bees also use this principle of maximum savings when building the bottom edges. The nest is made like a flat piece with two rows of cells back to back. In this case, a problem occurs at the meeting point of two cells. This problem can be solved by building the bottom surface of the cell by combining three squares. When three cells are built on one side of the nest, the bottom surface of the cells on the other side is automatically formed. Because the bottom surface is composed of square wax plates, the bottom of cells made in this way is deeper. This means the cell volume increases, and also means the amount of honey that can be stored increases. Then another question arises, why doesn’t honey leak or come out of the cell mouth? How do they keep the honey from coming out of the cell’s mouth?
The Significance of Bees in the Qur’an
As we know, the food source for bees is nectar, which is not found in winter. Therefore, bees mix the nectar they collect in summer with a special fluid secreted by their bodies. This mixture produces a new nutritious substance, namely honey, and stores it for the coming winter. It is interesting to note that bees store much more honey than they actually need. The first question that comes to our mind is: why don’t the bees stop this excess production of honey. The answer is in the Qur’an Surah An Nahl verses 68-69. الْجِبَالِ بُيُوتًا وَمِنَ الشَّجَرِ وَمِمَّا يَعْرِشُونَ. ثُمَّ كُلِي مِنْ كُلِِ لِقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ
Meaning: And your Lord revealed to the bees: “Make nests in the hills, in the trees, and in places made by humans.” then eat from each (type) fruit and walk the path of your Lord which has been made easy (for you). Drink comes out of the bee’s stomach (honey) of various colors, in which there is medicine that heals humans. Verily, in that there is indeed a sign (greatness of God) for people who think. Indeed, Allah is great with all His creation, Allah is true with all His words. I hope this is helpful.🙏.
