Biomechanics of pollen pellet removal by the honey bee

Abstract

Honey bees ( Apis mellifera ) carry pollen back to their hive by mixing it with nectar and forming it into a pellet. The pellet must be firmly attached to their legs during flight, but also easily removable when deposited in the hive. How does the honey bee achieve these contrary aims? In this experimental study, we film honey bees removing pollen pellets and find they peel them off at speeds 2–10 times slower than their typical grooming speeds. Using a self-built pollen scraper, we find that slow removal speeds reduce the force and work required to remove the pellet under shear stress. Creep tests on individual pollen pellets revealed that pollen pellets are viscoelastic materials characterized by a Maxwell model with long relaxation times. The relaxation time enables the pellet to remain a solid during both transport and removal. We hope that this work inspires further research into viscoelastic materials in nature.

Partnership between bees and flowers: Fine-tuned feeding speed and nectar sugar concentration facilitate energy rewards and pollination service

“…Normalizing PI(𝑓𝑓) by its maximum value, PI * (𝑓𝑓) = PI/ max(PI) measures the pollination efficiency as a function of 𝑓𝑓. We use Apis mellifera, a pollinator that is involved in 36% of the world's agricultural production 18,19 , as an example to demonstrate how bees' feeding behavior affects plant pollination. As shown in Fig.…”

Determining if honey bees (Apis mellifera) collect pollen from anemophilous plants in the UK

“…To this list our results add airborne contamination, either by direct contact in flight or through contaminated surfaces. Although not part of the current study, it is also possible that very small amounts of entomophilous pollen (those in a pellet in <1%) could come from the regurgitated nectar used during pellet formation (Matherne et al, 2021).…”

The process of pollen transformation into bee bread: changes in bioactivity, bioaccessibility, and microbial dynamics

“…1 The collected pollen is mixed with the salivary secretions and nectar and forms into pellets on the bee's hind legs. 2 Thus, bee pollen acquires a very different character from the plant pollen. The biochemical composition of pollen and bee bread differs primarily due to the lactic acid fermentation in the honeycomb cells.…”