Collecting pollen in bees

Bees collect pollen first on their body hair, then comb it back onto their hind legs.

Why do bees have hairy bodies?  After all, wasps are not at all hairy, yet their Hymenopteran cousins are covered with bristles.  The difference has to do with collecting pollen.

Wasps are carnivores and use their substantial jaws and stingers to despatch prey.  They visit flowers only as a means of finding visiting insects.  Bees, on the other hand, collect honey and pollen in the process of acquiring food.  Both are used for feeding the brood and queen back at the nest.

Pollen itself is not sticky; it is the flower pistol that has a sticky end that allows the pollen to become attached.  Pollen grains stick to the bee's fur because of an electrostatic attraction.  As a bee flies, the vibrating wings produce a positive charge on the body.  Flowers often carry a negative charge; the loose pollen grains will attach themselves to the bee's hairs with little effort on behalf of the insect.  Afterwards, a combing action is used to move the pollen to the hind legs, which have stiff hairs designed to store the pollen.

Another benefit of hair is that it helps to retain heat.  Temperature is an important factor in the ability of muscles to contract rapidly.  In cool climates, the internal temperature of the insects is too low to allow flight. By contracting thorax muscles (like shivering) the internal temperature rises allowing flight to occur.  The hairy body helps to keep that heat in so that flight is possible even on cool early mornings.

Isn't nature just amazing?

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com