How honey bees 'telescope' their abdomens
Monday, July 25, 2016 - 13:01
in Biology & Nature
Honey bees are able to wiggle their abdomens in a variety of ways. Now new research shows how they are able to do it. Specialized membranes that connect a honey bee's abdominal segments are thicker on the top of the abdomen than on the bottom, report the scientists. This asymmetry allows the segments to lengthen on top and contract on the bottom, resulting in the unidirectional curling the researchers observed in the bees they filmed.