From Science Magazine.

For decades, scientists assumed honey bees only lapped up nectar, rapidly dipping their tongues in and out. In 2020, researchers discovered that in some cases, the bees could also use their tongues to suck—but it wasn’t clear when or why they employed one strategy over the other in nature. To find out, researchers presented honey bees with deep tubes filled with nectar of varying sugar concentrations. They used high-speed cameras to watch as the bees extended their tongues into the tubes to draw out the sweet treat.

When the nectar was sugary thick or the tube was full—making it easier for the bees’ tongues to reach—the insects lapped it up. When it was watery or pooled deeper in the tubes, they switched to sucking.

The bees may have developed different techniques to make feeding from a variety of flowers as efficient as possible. Such versatility may have empowered them to colonize myriad flowering plants across the planet.

Read more: https://scim.ag/44pQJIt

FOOTAGE CREDIT: JIANGKUN WEI

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