Humans aren’t the only great builders. Bees are too! The insects are experts at building hives. That’s where bees live and raise their babies. It’s also where they store honey and pollen, which they use to make food.
Each hive is made up of hundreds of six-sided wax cells. The cells fit together to create a structure called a honeycomb. It’s lightweight yet very strong.
The honeycomb design has even inspired scientists at NASA. That’s the U.S. space agency. Workers at NASA built the James Webb Space Telescope. Its huge mirror has 18 sections. Each has six sides, like the cells of a honeycomb. The mirror was folded to fit in a rocket and then unfolded in space. Its shape helped the telescope take clear photos of faraway stars.