Bees could build flat honeycombs from just three shapes: squares, triangles or hexagons. But for some reason, bees choose hexagons. Always “perfect” hexagons. Why?

— What Is It About Bees And Hexagons? : Krulwich Wonders…

Illustration: Robert Krulwich/NPR

At NPR headquarters, our green roof — covered with soil and plants — houses two small wooden hives with more than 20,000 bees. No honey yet, but they are buzzz-y over on twitter @NPRBees. — tanya b.

Do bees, swarms of bees, make you nervous? Maybe not. Maybe they remind you of honey, flowers and warm summer days. You stay out of their way and they stay out of yours. What if, however, the bees weren’t bees at all but hundreds (or thousands) of autonomous microbots, facsimiles of the real thing, buzzing around in the real world?

That’s not Hollywood fantasy any more. It appears to be within reach. Researchers in the Microrobotics Lab at Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences say that they expect their Robobees project will demonstrate flying, autonomous micro-air-vehicles modeled on insects within the next 2 1/2 years.

It won’t be easy, according to Rob Wood, the project’s principal investigator.

—From “Rise Of The Robotic Bees” by Wright Bryan