A bee's reddish-colored tongue has hair-like structures at its tip, which enables the bee to suck in nectar. Bees do not die with their tongues sticking out, but this may mean they probably died from it. Long-tongued bees have a supple, hairy proboscis, made of multiple parts, including the true tongue.
The other parts offer structural support to protect the real thing. Bee tongues come in many shapes and sizes, depending on the species of bee and its purpose in the hive. All bee tongues are highly specialized organ systems composed of various muscles, glands, and sensory organs.
Have you ever wondered how bees feed on the nectar of flowers? Get ready to as you take a fascinating look at the bee tongue and its unique adaptation! The long tongue also allows bumblebees to drink water easily. When a bee drinks water, it wicks the liquid up with its tongue. -> Go back to the FAQs on bees tongues More to Explore: How Do Bees Reproduce? Is Honey Bee Vomit? Wasp Nest vs.
Bee Nest What is a bumblebee tongue called? A bumblebee tongue is called a glossa. The tongue and mouthparts The bumblebee has a long, reddish-coloured tongue that is hairy at the end so is good for soaking up nectar (see above and below). When the bumblebee is flying the tongue is folded under its head and body inside a horny sheath formed by the palps and maxillae, see the photograph above.
Bees can fold the tongue under themselves, as can be seen in the image below. Above, bumble bees like this common carder, have long tongues that fold under the abdomen when flying In short-tongued bees, the tongue is stout and a much shorter straw is formed by just the maxillary palps. Most bees have a tongue that is pointed or has a tip like a tiny spoon.
In the photo of this colletid bee, you will see most of the typical features of short-tongued bees with the exception of a bilobed or bifid tongue. Unlike most bees, they use this specialized tip to paint a cellophane. Author drawing of honey bee tongue -not to scale.
Have you ever watched a honey bee with its glossa (tongue) stretched out collecting nectar from a flower and wondered how it all happens? It's an amazing sight and you can be forgiven for not noticing how just hairy its tongue is. You really need to examine the mouthparts under a microscope to fully appreciate this. There are around 3,000.
Discover the incredible world of bees and their tongues, learning about their unique structure, function, and adaptations that enable them to collect nectar with precision. Bees have tongues, which they use to retrieve nectar from flowers and groom themselves and other bees. The main threat to bees is loss of habitat.
Most bees have a pointed or tip-like tongue, which is red and protected by a long sheath of two parts: the beak and the maxilla. The proboscis, or long hairy tongue, is used for sucking and detecting tastes. Those are pretty consistent, so let's say a honey bee tongue is 7 mm-a length, by the way, that is insufficient for red clover.
My "go to" reference for all things bee, Bees of the World by O'Toole and Raw claims that the tongues of short-tongued bees, which include Hylaeus, Colletes, and Andrena species, are 0.5.