True Facts: The Mystery Of How Bees Build
Join me at https://www.patreon.com/truefacts
Merch: https://ze-true-store.myshopify.com/
TF Educational channel: āØ@truefactseducational9288
Thank you:
Dr. Guy Theraulaz, CNRS
Dr. Clint Penick, Auburn University
Dr. Vince Gallo, Queen Mary University London
Dr. Paul Siefert, Institut für Bienenkunde
Grace Cope
Dr. Frederic Libersat, Ben Gurion University
Bee in a bag photo: https://naturefriendmagazine.com/plastic-bag-bees/
Citations
Bader C et al. Computational methods for the characterization of Apis mellifera comb architecture. 2022. doi:10.1038/s42003-022-03328-6
Cane JH. The Extraordinary Alkali Bee, Nomia melanderi (Halictidae), the World’s Only Intensively Managed Ground-Nesting Bee. 2024. doi:10.1146/annurev-ento-020623-013716
Cope G. The evolution of honeycomb. 2022.
Downing HA, Jeanne R. Nest construction by the paper wasp, Polistes: a test of stigmergy theory. 1988.
Cardoso SSS et al. The bee Tetragonula builds its comb like a crystal. 2020. doi:10.1098/rsif.20200187
Chui SX et al. Functional resin use in solitary bees. 2022. doi:10.1111/een.13103
Eggs B et al. Terebra steering in chalcidoid wasps. 2023. doi:10.1186/s12983-023-00503-1
da Luz, G.F., Campos, L.A.d.O., Zanuncio, J.C. et al. Auxiliary brood cell construction in nests of the stingless bee Plebeia lucii (Apidae: Meliponini). Apidologie 48, 681ā691 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13592-017-0513-7
Fateryga AV. The nest structure in four wasp species of the genus Euodynerus Dalla Torre (Hymenoptera, Vespidae: Eumeninae). 2013. doi:10.1134/S0013873813030027
Franklin R et al. Unraveling the Mechanisms of the Apis mellifera Honeycomb Construction by 4D X-ray Microscopy. 2022. doi:10.1002/adma.202202361
Gallo V, Chittka L. Cognitive Aspects of Comb-Building in the Honeybee?. 2018. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00900
Gallo V, Chittka L. Stigmergy versus behavioral flexibility and planning in honeybee comb construction. 2021. doi:10.1073/pnas.2111310118
Genise JF. Basic Architecture of Soil Nesting Wasps and Bees. In: Ichnoentomology. Springer; 2017. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-28210-7_9
Gharooni-Fard G et al. Honeybees adapt to a range of comb cell sizes by merging, tilting, and layering their construction. 2025. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.3003253
Heyde A et al. Self-organized biotectonics of termite nests. 2021. doi:10.1073/pnas.2006985118
Karsai I, Theraulaz G. Nest building in a social wasp: Postures and constraints (Hymenoptera: Vespidae). 1995.
Klein BA, Busby MK. Slumber in a cell: honeycomb used by honey bees for food, brood, heating⦠and sleeping. 2020. doi:10.7717/peerj.9583
Litman JR. Under the radar: detection avoidance in brood parasitic bees. 2019. doi:10.1098/rstb.2018.0196
Khuong A et al. Stigmergic construction and topochemical information shape ant nest architecture. 2016. doi:10.1073/pnas.1509829113
Matthews RW, Matthews JR. Nesting Behavior of Abispa ephippium (Fabricius) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Eumeninae): Extended Parental Care in an Australian Mason Wasp. 2009. doi:10.1155/2009/851694
Mauss V et al. Description of the nest of the pollen wasp Celonites jousseaumei Du Buysson, 1906 (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Masarinae). 2022. doi:10.3897/jhr.93.93865
Mauss V, Müller A. First contribution to the bionomics of the pollen wasp Celonites fischeri Spinola, 1838 (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Masarinae) in Cyprus. 2014. doi:10.3897/JHR.39.7841
Nikelshparg MI et al. Extraordinary drilling capabilities of the tiny parasitoid Eupelmus messene Walker (Hymenoptera, Eupelmidae). 2023. doi:10.3897/jhr.96.107786
Rƶmer D et al. Selection and spatial arrangement of building materials during the construction of nest turrets by grass-cutting ants. 2020. doi:10.1098/rsos.201312
Polk WLS et al. Observations on the Nest Architecture of the Solitary Bee Anthophora abrupta (Hymenoptera: Apidae). 2025. doi:10.18474/JES25-47
Siefert P et al. Honey bee behaviours within the hive: Insights from long-term video analysis. 2021. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0247323
Smith A. An investigation of the mechanisms underlying nest construction in the mud wasp Paralastor sp. (Hymenoptera: Eumenidae). 1978. doi:10.1016/0003-3472(78)90023-4
Smith ML et al. Honey bees and social wasps reach convergent architectural solutions to nest-building problems. 2023. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.3002211
Smith ML et al. Imperfect comb construction reveals the architectural abilities of honeybees. 2021. doi:10.1073/pnas.2103605118
Theraulaz G et al. Voyage au centre des termitiĆØres et des fourmiliĆØres. 2012. URL: pourlascience.fr/sd/ethologie/voyage-au-centre-des-termitieres-et-des-fourmilieres-6964.php
Theraulaz G, Bonabeau E. Coordination in Distributed Building. 1995. doi:10.1126/science.269.5224.686
Yang S et al. Structure of Fejes Tóth cells in natural honey bee combs. 2022. doi:10.1007/s13592-022-00915-8

@zefrank
May 28, 2026 at 8:10 pm
Come join me at https://www.patreon.com/truefacts
@HadiyaLeja-i8l
May 28, 2026 at 8:10 pm
Loved this video, keep up the great work!
@yayaeabr
May 28, 2026 at 8:10 pm
Thank you for the great content!
@EarthTouchTV
May 28, 2026 at 8:10 pm
The hexagon is nature's way of saying 'I did the math so you don't have to.' The bee did not do the math. The bee just… knew. Which is somehow more unsettling.
@AS-iu8hr
May 28, 2026 at 8:10 pm
The implicit assumption that humans don't also operate on a kind of stigmurgy is bold.
@TheSeptemberRose
May 28, 2026 at 8:10 pm
"Suck it nerd" š¤£
@d.man.2174
May 28, 2026 at 8:10 pm
5:22 hahah š
I'm childish.
@THEScottCampbell
May 28, 2026 at 8:10 pm
We've got to get you some hair restorer.
@imanalius7691
May 28, 2026 at 8:10 pm
Fascinating and funny!
@AlphaBookZ
May 28, 2026 at 8:10 pm
Hexagons are the bestagons š
@rajibsk9660
May 28, 2026 at 8:10 pm
This was super helpful, thanks!
@HeatherWhitmore-s8p
May 28, 2026 at 8:10 pm
This was super helpful, thanks!
@luckycatdad8369
May 28, 2026 at 8:10 pm
Hexagons are the bestagons. CGP Grey has a fantastic video about Hexagons.
@JodyKharlamova
May 28, 2026 at 8:10 pm
Very well done, appreciate this video!
@CandaceMerriweather
May 28, 2026 at 8:10 pm
Very well done, appreciate this video!
@JsnoAys
May 28, 2026 at 8:10 pm
Thanks for sharing this, learned a lot.
@telperion3
May 28, 2026 at 8:10 pm
this is how the bees do
@AgustinHarvey
May 28, 2026 at 8:10 pm
This was exactly what I needed, thanks!
@Paul-r8w4x
May 28, 2026 at 8:10 pm
I have tried honey straight from the comb
@SIZModig
May 28, 2026 at 8:10 pm
"Stuff a baby in it."
@aroccoification
May 28, 2026 at 8:10 pm
I used to watch these videos as a teenager and now Iām in my 30s
@peppercb8428
May 28, 2026 at 8:10 pm
I just had this crazy idea! What if you collabed with Alveus Sanctuary and tour their sanctuary and share fun facts together?! I think that'd be sooo cool
@Tony-mr2to
May 28, 2026 at 8:10 pm
Sorry, but you're not correct about the bee/wasp origin information.
@maninblk
May 28, 2026 at 8:10 pm
Quantum Biology. Thanks for the video.
@MAGAchud26
May 28, 2026 at 8:10 pm
Bees build that way because its how i told them to do it.
@helgemeff5555
May 28, 2026 at 8:10 pm
<3
@Ł ŲŁ دج٠اŁ-Ų¹6Ų«1Ų“
May 28, 2026 at 8:10 pm
Awesome video, looking forward to the next one!
@Timuhthy_the_1st
May 28, 2026 at 8:10 pm
Bees use blueprints
@KrishnaKasdekar-r9c
May 28, 2026 at 8:10 pm
Your videos are always so helpful, thank you!
@JKa244
May 28, 2026 at 8:10 pm
Hexagons are the bestagons.
Fun fact: Saturn has a hexagonal weather system at its north pole, formed by circular weather systems just south of the pole sorta squishing together.
Hexagonal honeycomb is that shape for a similar reason – bees build round cells but they squish together to form that hexagonal shape.
@Blackrose29-q3t
May 28, 2026 at 8:10 pm
0:01 new here so you want us to act like children what? lol š making my brain work out to heard to early.
@Timuhthy_the_1st
May 28, 2026 at 8:10 pm
What an odd way to start a video
@thelonewrangler1008
May 28, 2026 at 8:10 pm
Wait, so you're telling me the bees haven't unlocked sound frequencies and don't shape those hexagons with vibrations? Speaking of hippy theory. Psychedelics really like showing me hexagonal shapes, like, a lot of them
@moogleydoot
May 28, 2026 at 8:10 pm
6:41 needs a content warning holy
@TFTGGW
May 28, 2026 at 8:10 pm
I like bee butts and I cannot lie
All you pollinators can't deny
When a bug flies in
With a fuzzy abdomen
And cirbiculae on their legs
You get stung!
@q23main
May 28, 2026 at 8:10 pm
I see new Zefrank video – I'm š!
@12thsonofisrael
May 28, 2026 at 8:10 pm
@zefrank
Thank you, Frank
For this very enlightening and humorous journey into the world of insect hole š³ making and making and making… LOL š
@bupi.
May 28, 2026 at 8:10 pm
A ZeFrank face reveal jump scare was not on my bingo card
@traviscaines8534
May 28, 2026 at 8:10 pm
Bees stack tubes and conservation of energy pulls the walls straight. Because six circles fit around a seventh.