# Comb Alignment And The Magnetic Field



## BWrangler (Aug 14, 2002)

Hi Guys,

Check this out:

http://www.beedata.com/apis-uk/newsletters06/apis-uk0406.htm#articles

What do you think?

Regards
Dennis


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

Aren't you that guy who used to write about top bar hives... 

That is interesting. But all the combs in my top bar hives run north and south... while all the combs in my other hives run east and west...


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## throrope (Dec 18, 2008)

I'm always grateful of contributions from those with too much free time.


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## Bens-Bees (Sep 18, 2008)

I think they had a predetermined conclusion that they wanted to reach which explains why they totally ignored the possibility that comb direction correlates to entrance location in that once they start building, they will continue building comb in the same direction relative to the entrance of the hive, and not relative to magnetic fields.

If they were serious about testing the effects of magnetic fields on comb direction, they would have rotated powerful magnets around the hive instead of using no magnets and rotating the inner hive relative to the entrance. But then, they might not have been able to verify the conclusion they had already made before they started this. 

This is what I would call junk science.


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## BoBn (Jul 7, 2008)

SgtMaj said:


> If they were serious about testing the effects of magnetic fields on comb direction, they would have rotated powerful magnets


The magnets would not have to be very powerful to create an artificial magnetic field in a small space the size of a bee hive. Just enough to change the position of a compass needle.


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## SeaBee (Apr 28, 2008)

Orientation of comb building by honeybees
Journal of Comparative Physiology A: Neuroethology, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology
Volume 147, Number 4 / December, 1982

David De Jong (1, 2)
(1) Department of Entomology, Cornell University, 14853 Ithaca, New York, USA
(2) Depto. de Genetica, Faculdade de Medicina, USP, 14.100 Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brasil

Summary: Upon entering a new home site a honeybee swarm is faced with the task of organizing the building activities of thousands of component bees so that several straight and parallel vertically oriented combs can be quickly and efficiently built. As a part of this organization process it is necessary for the bees to select and agree upon a planar orientation for the new combs.

This paper presents evidence that memory of a previously used comb direction influences the building of the new set of combs. Swarms which have recently moved into bait-hives (empty boxes placed in trees to attract feral swarms) tend to maintain the previously used comb direction when removed and forced to build new combs, whereas swarms which have occupied the bait-hives for a longer period (over 9 days) do not.

Recent swarms predictably alter their comb building direction within the influence of an applied earth-strength magnetic field, indicating that honey bees are able to use the earth's magnetic field as a reference at the commencement of comb construction in a new hive.


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