Journal of Bionic Engineering ›› 2021, Vol. 18 ›› Issue (5): 1225-1234.doi: 10.1007/s42235-021-00094-9
• • 上一篇
Effects of Nectar Property on Compensated Dipping Behavior of Honey Bees with Damaged Tongues
Jingrui Wang1, Yu Sun2, Wei Zhang2, Yunqiang Yang1, Shaoze Yan3, Jianing Wu2
- 1 School of Engineering and Technology , China University of Geosciences (Beijing) , Beijing 100083 , China
2 School of Aeronautics and Astronautics , Sun Yat-Sen University , Guangzhou 510006 , China
3 Division of Intelligent and Biomechanical Systems, State Key Laboratory of Tribology, Department of Mechanical Engineering , Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084 , China
Effects of Nectar Property on Compensated Dipping Behavior of Honey Bees with Damaged Tongues
Jingrui Wang1, Yu Sun2, Wei Zhang2, Yunqiang Yang1, Shaoze Yan3, Jianing Wu2
- 1 School of Engineering and Technology , China University of Geosciences (Beijing) , Beijing 100083 , China
2 School of Aeronautics and Astronautics , Sun Yat-Sen University , Guangzhou 510006 , China
3 Division of Intelligent and Biomechanical Systems, State Key Laboratory of Tribology, Department of Mechanical Engineering , Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084 , China
摘要： In nature, bees with damaged tongues are adapted to have a feat in collecting nectariferous sources in a large spectrum of
concentrations (19%–69%) or viscosities (10 –3 Pa·s to 10 –1 Pa·s); however, eff ects of nectar property on compensated dipping behavior remain elusive. Combining the bee tongue anatomy, high-speed videography, and mathematical models, we
investigate responses of honey bees with damaged tongues to fl uidic sources in various properties. We fi nd that, bees with
80% damaged tongues are deprived of feeding capability and remarkably, the dipping frequency increases from 4.24 Hz to
5.08 Hz while ingesting 25% sugar water when the tongue loses 0–30% in length, while declines from 5.08 to 3.86 Hz in case
of 30% damaged tongue when sucrose concentration increases from 25% to 45%. We employ the energetic compensation
rate and energetic utilization rate to evaluate eff ectiveness of the compensation from the perspective of energetic regulation.
The mathematical model indicates that the energetic compensation rate turns higher in bees with less damaged tongues
for ingesting dilute sugar water, demonstrating its capability of functional compensation for combined factors. Also, the
tongue-damaged bees achieve the highest energetic utilization rate when ingesting ~ 30% sugar water. Beyond biology, the
fi ndings may shed lights on biomimetic materials and technologies that aim to compensate for geometrical degradations
without regeneration.