Tongue Cleaning. Bombus hortorum, Garden Bumblebee, on Horsemint, Mentha longifolia, Hortus Botanicus, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Think about it! Tongues. Human tongues taste, help masticate, clean one's teeth. But sticky Frog Tongues like my own are hinged at the front; they do those same things, and more importantly: in a split second we flop them out to catch our daily prey. We'd die of hunger without one.
And then the Bumblebee tongue: what an interesting organ. Like a supple sword it's contained within a long sheath and draws out to 'lick' at the end of its protection. That tongue is hairy and has tiny pores; yes, it's used for licking but more for absorbing the nectar it finds, and its stickiness helps in gathering pollen. Without it, Bumblebees - and for that matter other bees as well - would go hungry and die. Moreover, Bumblebees use their tongues as sensory receptors for many other things, too.
You can imagine that such a sensillan instrument needs good maintenance. So regularly Bees take time out from foraging to clean their tongues so as to remain sensitive to their environment of pollinating and nectaring flowers.
Here's a Bombus hortorum, a Garden Bumblebee, doing just that with its front legs. You can see the brown-purple protective sheath and just the tip of the tongue itself. Yes, it's long too: in this Bumblebee about 2 cm.
Tongue Cleaning. Bombus hortorum, Garden Bumblebee, on Horsemint, Mentha longifolia, Hortus Botanicus, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Think about it! Tongues. Human tongues taste, help masticate, clean one's teeth. But sticky Frog Tongues like my own are hinged at the front; they do those same things, and more importantly: in a split second we flop them out to catch our daily prey. We'd die of hunger without one.
And then the Bumblebee tongue: what an interesting organ. Like a supple sword it's contained within a long sheath and draws out to 'lick' at the end of its protection. That tongue is hairy and has tiny pores; yes, it's used for licking but more for absorbing the nectar it finds, and its stickiness helps in gathering pollen. Without it, Bumblebees - and for that matter other bees as well - would go hungry and die. Moreover, Bumblebees use their tongues as sensory receptors for many other things, too.
You can imagine that such a sensillan instrument needs good maintenance. So regularly Bees take time out from foraging to clean their tongues so as to remain sensitive to their environment of pollinating and nectaring flowers.
Here's a Bombus hortorum, a Garden Bumblebee, doing just that with its front legs. You can see the brown-purple protective sheath and just the tip of the tongue itself. Yes, it's long too: in this Bumblebee about 2 cm.