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Study Reveals Queen Bumblebees Struggle with Nectar Foraging

1/13/2026

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Summary

Story summary

Queen bumblebees forage nectar less efficiently than workers due to their tongue structure, per a study in PNAS published January 12.
Queens have longer tongues but fewer hairs than workers, reducing nectar capture.
Tongue hairs trap nectar via surface tension, a mechanism identified by Zexiang Huang of Sun Yat-Sen University.
The findings may help predict nectar harvesting across bee types and inform crop pollination management.

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Story summary

Queen bumblebees forage nectar less efficiently than workers due to their tongue structure, per a study in PNAS published January 12.
Queens have longer tongues but fewer hairs than workers, reducing nectar capture.
Tongue hairs trap nectar via surface tension, a mechanism identified by Zexiang Huang of Sun Yat-Sen University.
The findings may help predict nectar harvesting across bee types and inform crop pollination management.