How Do Bee Hives Work?

Beehives are one of the most fascinating structures in the animal kingdom, but how do bees build a hive? And what if I told you that some bees don’t collect honey at all? It’s true, and in this post, I will explain to you what a beehive is and where it can be found.

Why are beehives and honeycombs so uniquely shaped? Why do they have to be made out of beeswax or something similar to that anyway? These are questions you might have had. Let’s get into beehive building, beekeeping terms, how beehives work, and much more.

Ever wondered how beehives work? Here’s a quick look at how honey bees live and survive.

How does a hive work?

Bees are incredible creatures. They work tirelessly for the good of the hive, creating honey and pollinating plants as they go.

A beehive is made up of several different elements that all have their purpose.

Let’s take a look at each one:

Queen Bee:

This is the most important part of your hive. She lays all of the eggs and keeps the other bees in line. Without her, you wouldn’t have any new bees to replace those who die off or get too old to work anymore!

Worker Bees:

These are the bees who do everything else—they fly around collecting pollen, they make honey and pollen balls, they guard the entrance to your hive so no predators come in while you’re asleep…and so much more!

Drone Bees:

These guys don’t do much except mate with queens when they’re ready to breed new colonies! They also help out with collecting pollen sometimes but mostly just hang out waiting for their chance to mate with new queens so they can start their colonies someday too (sort of like boys waiting outside school dances).

The opening at the top of each cell is called an “entrance” or “vestibule”. It is about 1/4 inch (6mm) wide and leads into a tunnel-like space called an “alveolus”. This tunnel leads to another tunnel called a “cleft”, which leads to a larger space called a “receptacle”. It is here that honey is stored by worker bees in preparation for the winter months when there may be no flowers from which to collect nectar.

The entrance/exit hole on top of each cell allows for ventilation so that CO2 can be removed from inside of the hive while O2 enters through this same opening. When there’s enough room inside a cell for more than one bee, they will share it (called cohabitation).