Switchable Wettability of the Honeybee’s Tongue Surface Regulated by Erectable Glossal Hairs

Various nectarivorous animals apply bushy-hair-equipped tongues to lap nectar from nectaries of flowers. A typical example is provided by the Italian honeybee (Apis mellifera ligustica), who protracts and retracts its tongue (glossa) through a temporary tube, and actively controls the erectable glossal hairs to load nectar. We first examined the microstructure of the honeybee’s glossal surface, recorded the kinematics of its glossal hairs during nectar feeding process and observed the rhythmical hair erection pattern clearly. Then we measured the wettability of the glossal surface under different erection angles (EA) in sugar water of the mass concentration from 25 to 45%, mimicked by elongating the glossa specimens. The results show that the EA in retraction approximately remains stable under different nectar concentrations. In a specific concentration (35, 45, or 55%), the contact angle decreases and glossal surface area increases while the EA of glossal hairs rises, the glossa therefore could dynamically alter the glossal surface and wettability in foraging activities, not only reducing the energy consumption for impelling the nectar during tongue protraction, but also improving the nectar-trapping volume for feeding during glossa retraction. The dynamic glossal surface with switchable wettability regulated by erectable hairs may reveal the effective adaptation of the honeybee to nectar intake activities.