What Are Honeycombs Made Of?

Function

• The honeycomb is the primary part of the bee hive. It functions as shelter, storage for food and as a nursery for larvae. After the queen lays her eggs, the young are raised in part of the comb. Other cells of the comb are used to store pollen and honey.

Beeswax

• The worker bees secrete wax from glands on their abdomens, put the wax in their mouths and chew it to soften it, according to the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center. Then they add the wax to enlarge the honeycomb.

Structure

• The honeycomb is two-sided, and it consists of perfectly hexagonal cells that are the same size. According to PBS.org, a natural hive has half a dozen honeycombs with a surface area of under 27 square feet, containing about 100,000 cells in all and requiring about 2.5 lbs. of beeswax to build. The worker bees must eat about 15 lbs. of honey to make the beeswax.