5.20 Function and structure of wings, legs, feet, antennae, mouthparts and setae

Question 1

What is the first area of the antenna in honeybees?

Answer 1

The first area is the antennifer, which forms a ball and socket joint with the head controlled by 4 muscles.

Question 2

What is the longest segment of the honeybee antenna?

Answer 2

The longest segment is the scape.

Question 3

What joint allows the antenna to flex or extend?

Answer 3

The scape forms a hinge joint with the pedicel.

Question 4

What is the function of the Organ of Johnston?

Answer 4

It is thought to determine wind speed or speed of flight.

Question 5

What are the subsequent segments of the antenna called?

Answer 5

They are called flagella (or flagellum for a single one).

Question 6

How many flagella do worker and queen honeybees have?

Answer 6

They have 10 flagella.

Question 7

How many flagella does a drone honeybee have?

Answer 7

A drone has 11 flagella.

Question 8

What do sensilla on the antenna detect?

Answer 8

They detect chemicals through taste and smell.

Question 9

How many placodea does a drone antenna have?

Answer 9

A drone antenna has around 30,000 placodea.

Question 10

How many placodea does a worker and queen antenna have?

Answer 10

A worker has around 3,000 to 6,000, and a queen has only 1,600.

Question 11

What are the complex mouthparts of a honeybee made of?

Answer 11

They are made of a number of separate parts including the labrum and mandibles.

Question 12

What is the function of the mandibles in honeybees?

Answer 12

They are used for chewing, grooming, and biting invasive bees.

Question 13

What is unique about the queen’s mandibles?

Answer 13

They have a toothed appearance and deep grooves for mandibular secretions.

Question 14

What is the function of the proboscis?

Answer 14

It is used to suck up liquids such as nectar.

Question 15

What structures form the proboscis?

Answer 15

It is formed from interlocking structures including the galea and glossa.

Question 16

What is the function of the flabellum?

Answer 16

It is used to start the process of sucking up liquids.

Question 17

How many pairs of wings do honeybees have?

Answer 17

They have 2 pairs of wings, fore and hind.

Question 18

What is the tegula?

Answer 18

It is a flap of cuticle covering the fore wing joint.

Question 19

How do honeybee wings lock together during flight?

Answer 19

They lock using around 20 hooks or hamuli.

Question 20

What is the function of the hamuli?

Answer 20

They hook onto a channel on the hind wing to form a larger surface for efficient flight.

Question 21

Can trains follow time tables perfectly

What is the structure of honeybee legs?

Answer 21

They are made of segments with joints, including coxa, trochanter, femur, tibia, tarsus, and pretarsus.

Question 22

What is the function of the fore leg’s groove?

Answer 22

It is known as the antenna cleaner, allowing bees to clean their antenna.

Question 23

What is unique about the hind leg of worker honeybees?

Answer 23

It contains the pollen basket, pollen comb, and pollen press.

Question 24

What is the corbicula?

Answer 24

It is the concave surface on the outer face of the tibia of the hind leg that forms the pollen basket.

Question 25

What do the claws on the pretarsus do?

Answer 25

They are used to cling to surfaces.

Question 26

What is the function of the arolium?

Answer 26

It is used on smooth surfaces to aid in adhesion.

Question 27

What types of hairs are found on honeybees?

Answer 27

They can be straight or branched, with branched hairs thought to trap pollen. * Branched hairs known as plumose hairs are thought to trap pollen but could be used to prevent particles from entering openings such as the spiracles. * Straight hairs can be sensory providing the bee with a sense of touch. * Others may not be linked to nerve cells and may simply be there for physical reasons for example, those of the pollen press. These are found covering the surfaces of the head, thorax and abdomen even between the ommatidia of the compound eye.

Question 28

What is the proboscis formed from?

Answer 28

The proboscis is formed from a series of interlocking structures.

Question 29

What are the cardines or spines at the top of the mouthparts used for?

Answer 29

They are attached to muscles and act as a lever swinging the proboscis outwards when needed and backwards when not.

Question 30

How do the galea and labial palps function?

Answer 30

The galea lock with the labial palps to form a tube down which the glossa runs.

Question 31

What role does saliva play in the proboscis?

Answer 31

Saliva can run down the middle of the glossa to aid in sucking movements and begin the digestion process.

Question 32

How are liquids pulled up the proboscis?

Answer 32

By performing ‘sucking’ movements using dilator muscles in the cibarium or mouth cavity.

Question 33

What is the function of the flabellum at the end of the glossa?

Answer 33

The flabellum is spoon-shaped and used to start the process of sucking up liquids such as water or nectar.

Question 34

How does the length of the proboscis differ among drones, queens, and workers?

Answer 34

The whole proboscis is shorter in drones and queens compared to workers.

Question 35

What are the uses of mandibles?

Answer 35

Mandibles are used for taking in pollen, shaping and chewing wax, fighting, grooming, dragging out debris from the nest, brood feeding, gathering and using propolis, and supporting other mouth parts.

Question 36

What functions does the proboscis serve?

Answer 36

The main function of the proboscis is to ingest liquid (water, nectar, and honey). The proboscis also functions in trophallaxis, licking pheromones, and exchanging them with other workers.

Question 37

How does the proboscis change shape when the bee is resting?

Answer 37

The proboscis can be folded in a Z shape within the mouth when the bee is resting.

Question 38

What role does the epipharynx play in the proboscis function?

Answer 38

The epipharynx forms an airtight seal at the top of the glossa to enable suction.

Question 39

What is the importance of the hairy glossa?

Answer 39

The hairy glossa is important for collecting pollen that sticks to the hairs and is removed by the fore legs.

Question 40

What is tongue lashing?

Answer 40

Tongue lashing is when the worker regurgitates liquid (water or nectar), spreads it on comb or the side of the hive in a thin layer, and repeatedly beats it with her tongue.

Question 41

What is tongue stropping?

Answer 41

Tongue stropping occurs when hesitant bees entering the wrong hive pull their proboscis through their front feet when challenged by a guard.

Question 42

What is honey ripening?

Answer 42

Honey ripening involves regurgitating nectar and holding it in a fold of the proboscis, exposing it to air.

Question 43

How does saliva help in liquefying solid foods?

Answer 43

Saliva travels down the glossa tube, and the labellum is employed to rub it into solid food to create a liquid to be drawn up.