Drag Reduction in the Mouthpart of a Honeybee Facilitated by Galea Ridges for Nectar-Dipping Strategy

作     者：Chuchu Li Jianing Wu Yunqiang Yang Rengao Zhu Shaoze Yan 

作者机构：Division of Intelligent and Biomechanical Systems State Key Laboratory of Tribology Department of Mechanical Engineering Tsinghua University Beijing 100084 China School of Engineering and Technology China University of Geosciences Beijing 100083 China 

出 版 物：《Journal of Bionic Engineering》 (仿生工程学报（英文版）)

年 卷 期：2015年第12卷第1期

页      面：70-78页

核心收录：

学科分类：0710[理学-生物学] 0831[工学-生物医学工程（可授工学、理学、医学学位）] 090504[农学-特种经济动物饲养（含：蚕、蜂等）] 0905[农学-畜牧学] 09[农学] 0904[农学-植物保护] 090401[农学-植物病理学] 0836[工学-生物工程] 090402[农学-农业昆虫与害虫防治] 0702[理学-物理学] 

基　　金：National Natural Science Founding of China Research Project of the State Key Laboratory of Tribology under Contract 

主　　题：honeybee mouthpart ridges drag reduction micropump 

摘      要：Some nectarivorous animals have evolved highly specialized tongues to gather nectar from flowers. Here we show that the Italian honeybee, Apis mellifera ligustica, uses the uniformly-distributed ridges on the internal wall of the mouthpart to reduce drag while drinking nectar. We discovered that the tip of the tongue is covered with bushy setae and resembles a brush, and the ridges are parallel distributed on the inner wall of the galeae. Using high-speed camera, we recorded the morphology of the mouthpart when dipping the sucrose water. Considering the ridges and the movement rule of the glossa, we proposed a model for analyzing the mechanism of drag reduction. Theoretical estimation of the friction coefficient with respect to the dipping frequency indicates that the erectable bushy hairs and the ridges can significantly reduce friction when a honeybee drinks nectar. Results show that dimensions of the ridges play a key role in reducing friction. It can be concluded that the ridges on the galeae of honeybee＇s mouthpart can reduce the friction coefficient by 86% compared with the case of the transverse distribution co- efficient S = 40. Finally, the capability of drag reduction in the mouthpart of honeybee may inspire a creative concept for de- signing efficient viscous micropumps.