2. HONEY BEES
A N D M AT H ?
• Some questions are
difficult to answer through
observation
• We can model these
systems and provide
defined areas of focus for
researchers
3. W H AT A B O U T
THE BEES?
• Honey Bees create hives of
hexagonal cells that are
filled with larvae, brood,
and pollen.
• We don’t know how Honey
Bees maintain their hive
structures or why some
hives fail.
• Models offer insight
4. W H AT D O W E
KNOW?
• Queen Bees deposit larvae
(brood) into cells.
• Worker Bees collect pollen
for food and nectar to
make honey.
• Nurse Bees raise larvae
with honey and pollen.
• Thus brood need to be
close to honey cells
6. M A N Y FA C T O R S I N F L U E N C E R E S O U R C E
DISTRIBUTION WITHIN A HIVE
• Temperature
• Pollen availability
• Size of hive
• Amount of resources consumed
• The number of eggs a queen lays an hour
7. THE COMPUTER MODEL
• 45 cells wide
• 75 cells tall
• 60 day period
• 12 hour day and night cycles
• Queen lays 42-84 eggs an hour
8.
9. THE COMPUTER MODEL CONTINUED
• Queen’s cell variation rate; cells per hour
• Preferential nectar consumption radius; cells
• Average honey collection; loads per day
10. THE MODEL CONTINUED
• Ratio of pollen collection to honey collection
• Ratio of pollen consumption to pollen collection
• Ration of honey consumption to honey collection
• Temporal distribution of daily nectar and pollen
collection
11. W H AT D O E S T H E M O D E L T E L L
SCIENTISTS?
• Sensitivity
• Queen visitation rate
• Average honey per day
• Ratio of pollen collection to honey collection
12.
13. TURNS OUT
• If you bias the queens movement towards the center
of the hive, honey bees will maintain the patterning
seen in nature.
• Bees do not need to know where everything is in the
hive.
• Focusing on a few factors is key to understanding how
Honey Bee’s organize their hives.
