Comments on: Cellophane Bee

By: Andy

Andy — Sun, 17 May 2009 01:00:38 +0000

Yes, but is it stain resistant? If the bees spill mustard in their hive, will the stains come out?

And do the bees ever use this ability to make tiny little leisure suits?

If not, they should.

By: K T Cat

K T Cat — Sat, 16 May 2009 16:11:48 +0000

Yes, but is it stain resistant? If the bees spill mustard in their hive, will the stains come out?

By: Tim Eisele

Tim Eisele — Mon, 11 May 2009 13:29:44 +0000

Hey, that was easy! Here we go:
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(From “Science”, 27 April 1979: Vol. 204. no. 4391, pp. 415 – 417)

Natural Polyesters: Dufour’s Gland Macrocyclic Lactones Form Brood Cell Laminesters in Colletes Bees
ABRAHAM HEFETZ, HENRY M. FALES, and SUZANNE W. T. BATRA

Bees in the genus Colletes make their brood cells in the ground and coat them with a highly resistant, waterproof, transparent membrane. This membrane is a polyester constructed mainly from 18-hydroxyoctadecanoic acid and 20-hydroxy-eicosanoic acid, which are stored as their corresponding lactones in the Dufour’s gland of the bee. When lining the cells, the bee secretes its glandular content, and the membrane is apparently a product of polycondensation reaction of its contents. This appears to be the first report of a naturally occurring linear polyester. The term laminester (lamina sime layer + ester) for this class of compounds is proposed.

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So! On the one hand, it really is polyester (although using a different chemistry than what we humans use), so I guess Wikipedia was right. On the other hand, this sounds like the first case where an organism was found to secrete a polyester film, so I was justified in being a bit sceptical of it all.

By: Tim Eisele

Tim Eisele — Mon, 11 May 2009 13:23:57 +0000

Thanks! I suppose if I want to answer the cellophane/polyester question conclusively, I’ll need to rummage about in the scientific literature and see if anyone published an actual chemical analysis of the film the bees secrete.

By: Moe

Moe — Mon, 11 May 2009 01:48:10 +0000

Great photos and great information!

By: K T Cat

K T Cat — Sun, 10 May 2009 13:48:33 +0000

I hear that bees are very industrious. Maybe they used that industry to manufacture the polyester.

Ahem.

I didn’t know that about the stingers. The hair on the bee makes it look like a stereotypical Arkansas grandpa.

Another marvelous post and set of photos. Bravo!