Abstract
We developed a mathematical model and an algorithm for numerical treatment of a model of honeycomb construction in a beehive. The model contains essential features of the bee-bee and bee-wax interactions, and in a qualitative way captures the dynamics of parallel comb construction. The construction is represented by a set of dynamical coupled partial differential equations for the density of bees situated on the hive ceiling, and the quantity of wax distributed by the bees. A spectral algorithm is invented for treatment of these equations, based on a modified thin-sheet gain scheme and a fast Fourier transform technique.
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Work at City College supported in part by the Army Research Office and the Department of Energy
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Belić, M.R., Škarka, V., Deneubourg, J.L. et al. Mathematical model of honeycomb construction. J. Math. Biology 24, 437–449 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01236891
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01236891