Hives Alive: Where honeybee science becomes art 

The installation grew from a National Science Foundation-funded research project examining how honeybee colonies are organized in three dimensions. While beekeepers and scientists understand many broad patterns within honeybee nests, capturing the complete three-dimensional organization of a colony at the individual-cell level is extremely difficult. 

“This dataset is the first of its kind, and it was only possible because of the infrastructure and team we have assembled here at Auburn,” said principal investigator Michael L. Smith. “I’ve been wanting to map nests in 3D for more than 10 years but had to wait for the stars to align.” 

To do that, Auburn researchers developed a way to combine beekeeping tools with the natural biology of honeybees. Bees are given wooden frames with a small amount of wax as a starting point, allowing them to build their comb naturally within the frame. Researchers can then remove the frames and photograph the developing combs each week. 

Those images are processed using machine learning to classify the contents of individual cells. The result is an unusually detailed three-dimensional dataset that follows honeybee colonies over an entire season. 

That scientific dataset became the foundation for “Hives Alive.” 

For Peter Marting, a postdoctoral researcher in the Smith Bee Lab and an artist who has worked at the intersection of science and art for more than a decade, the exhibit represents an opportunity to change how scientific research reaches the public. 

“Connecting science and art creates an opportunity for the public to learn about research in a way they’ve never experienced before,” Marting said. “Art has the ability to strike an emotional dimension, which can be quite impactful and unexpected in science learning.”

Marting also sees value in the artistic process from the scientist’s perspective. Translating research into an artistic form can allow scientists to interact with their own data in a new way and look at their research from a different perspective.

That perspective is part of what makes “Hives Alive” more than a traditional science exhibit. Rather than presenting research through graphs, charts or a scientific paper, the installation allows visitors to experience the structure and organization of a honeybee nest visually and emotionally. 

The exhibit also offers a glimpse into a world that is normally hidden from view. Honeybees naturally build multiple parallel combs, carefully organizing the contents of their nest as they raise young and store food. The installation translates that hidden organization into a form visitors can see unfolding in light. 

For Marting, that connection between discovery, creativity and public engagement is the ultimate goal. 

“People not trained in the sciences can see this research presented through art by scientists themselves and can consider the whole process in a different light which can have a humanizing element as well,” he said. “We’ve learned that is a good way to create long-lasting knowledge.” 

On Friday, Sept. 18 “Hives Alive” will illuminate the patterns hidden within a honeybee colony, transforming scientific data into an experience visitors can see, explore and remember. The exhibit will remain on display at the Davis Arboretum through the end of the year.