Why do honeybees love hexagons? - Zack Patterson and Andy Peterson
-
0:07 - 0:11Honeybees are fascinating creatures
for a number of reasons: -
0:11 - 0:12their incredible work ethic,
-
0:12 - 0:14the sugary sweet syrup they produce
-
0:14 - 0:16and their intricate social structure.
-
0:16 - 0:20But another reason is
that honeybees are, in fact, -
0:20 - 0:22excellent mathematicians.
-
0:22 - 0:25Scientists claim the tiny insects
can calculate angles, -
0:25 - 0:29and can even comprehend
the roundness of the Earth. -
0:29 - 0:31But there's particular
mathematical bee genius -
0:31 - 0:35behind the most important aspect
of honeybee life: the hive. -
0:35 - 0:39Just like humans, bees need food
and shelter to stay alive. -
0:39 - 0:41The hive is not only the bees' home,
-
0:41 - 0:44but doubles as a place
to store their honey. -
0:44 - 0:46Since it's so central to survival,
-
0:46 - 0:50honeybees have to perfect
the hive's architectural design. -
0:50 - 0:53If you examine any piece of honeycomb,
-
0:53 - 0:54you'll see that it's constructed from
-
0:54 - 0:58tightly packed hexagonal,
or six-sided, cells. -
0:58 - 1:00Of all the possible designs,
-
1:00 - 1:02why do honeybees choose this one?
-
1:02 - 1:05To understand, you need
to think like a bee. -
1:05 - 1:08Bees need a secure place
for their entire colony to live. -
1:08 - 1:10Similarly, there needs to be a place
-
1:10 - 1:13where their nectar can
be stored and ripened suitably -
1:13 - 1:15until it turns into honey.
-
1:15 - 1:19That means there's a need
for some serious space efficiency. -
1:19 - 1:22A good solution is to build
little storage units, or cells, -
1:22 - 1:25just big enough for a bee to fit into,
-
1:25 - 1:28which can also double as the containers
in which nectar is stored: -
1:28 - 1:31The bees' very own honey jars.
-
1:31 - 1:35The next thing, is to decide what
the little cells should be made out of. -
1:35 - 1:37Bees don't have beaks
or arms to pick up things, -
1:37 - 1:40but they are capable of producing wax.
-
1:40 - 1:43The thing is, producing it
is a lot of hard work. -
1:43 - 1:46Bees have to consume 8 ounces of honey
-
1:46 - 1:49to produce just 1 ounce of wax.
-
1:49 - 1:50So they don't want to waste it.
-
1:50 - 1:53So, they need a design
that allows them to store -
1:53 - 1:55the largest possible amount of honey
-
1:55 - 1:58using the least amount of wax.
-
1:58 - 1:59What shape does that?
-
1:59 - 2:01Imagining for a minute
that all bees had to -
2:01 - 2:04attend architecture academy
and go to math class. -
2:04 - 2:07Let's say they asked
their geometry teacher, -
2:07 - 2:10"What shape would give us
the most space to store our honey, -
2:10 - 2:12but require the least amount of wax?"
-
2:12 - 2:14And then geometry teacher replied,
-
2:14 - 2:17"The shape that you're seeking
is the circle." -
2:17 - 2:19Leaving the bees to return
to their trial construction site -
2:19 - 2:23and begin building their honeycomb
using circular cells. -
2:23 - 2:26After a while, some of them
might have noticed -
2:26 - 2:27a problem with their design:
-
2:27 - 2:30small gaps between the cells.
-
2:30 - 2:33"We can't even fit in there!
That's wasted space!" -
2:33 - 2:34they might have thought.
-
2:34 - 2:36So, ignoring the geometry lesson,
-
2:36 - 2:38and taking matters into their own hands,
-
2:38 - 2:40the bees went back to the drawing board
-
2:40 - 2:42to rethink their beehive design.
-
2:42 - 2:44One suggested triangles,
-
2:44 - 2:47"We can use triangles. Look!
They fit together perfectly." -
2:47 - 2:50Another bee suggested squares.
-
2:50 - 2:52Finally, a third bee piped up and said,
-
2:52 - 2:55"Pentagons don't seem to work,
but hexagons do! -
2:55 - 2:58We want the one that will use
the least amount of wax -
2:58 - 3:01and be able to store
the most amount of honey. -
3:01 - 3:03Yes, I think that's the hexagon."
-
3:03 - 3:04"Why?"
-
3:04 - 3:06"It looks more like the circle
than the others." -
3:06 - 3:08"But how do we know for sure?"
-
3:08 - 3:11To find out, the industrious
insect architects -
3:11 - 3:15calculated the areas of the triangle,
the square and the hexagon -
3:15 - 3:17and found that the hexagon was, in fact,
-
3:17 - 3:20the shape that gave them
the most storage space. -
3:20 - 3:23They agreed on an ideal size
and returned to work. -
3:23 - 3:26The space efficient comb that
is a bee's trademark today, -
3:26 - 3:29is probably the result
of this trial and error, -
3:29 - 3:32but over long periods
of evolutionary history. -
3:32 - 3:33However, it paid off.
-
3:33 - 3:35Peek into any hive --
-
3:35 - 3:37with your protective goggles
and netting on, of course -- -
3:37 - 3:41and you'll see the end result:
a beautiful compact honeycomb -
3:41 - 3:44that any architect would have
be proud to design.
- Title:
- Why do honeybees love hexagons? - Zack Patterson and Andy Peterson
- Description:
-
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-do-honeybees-love-hexagons-zack-patterson-and-andy-peterson
Honeybees are some of nature's finest mathematicians. Not only can they calculate angles and comprehend the roundness of the earth, these smart insects build and live in one of the most mathematically efficient architectural designs around: the beehive. Zack Patterson and Andy Peterson delve into the very smart geometry behind the honeybee's home.
Lesson by Zack Patterson and Andy Peterson, animation by TED-Ed.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TED-Ed
- Duration:
- 03:59
Jenny Zurawell edited English subtitles for Why do honeybees love hexagons? - Zack Patterson and Andy Peterson | ||
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Jennifer Cody edited English subtitles for Why do honeybees love hexagons? - Zack Patterson and Andy Peterson | ||
Jennifer Cody edited English subtitles for Why do honeybees love hexagons? - Zack Patterson and Andy Peterson | ||
Jennifer Cody edited English subtitles for Why do honeybees love hexagons? - Zack Patterson and Andy Peterson |