Overview
- Researchers studying Bombus terrestris report that queens collect nectar less efficiently than workers despite having longer tongues.
- Scanning electron microscopy showed queens’ tongue hairs are spaced farther apart, reducing surface-tension trapping of nectar.
- High-speed video of bees drinking artificial nectars confirmed lower capture efficiency in queens during lapping.
- Viscosity tests found queens struggled with dilute nectar while workers performed well across nectar thicknesses.
- The team proposes this physical constraint helps explain why queens cease foraging once workers emerge, with potential implications for bee–flower matching and crop pollination that require field validation.