Bumble Bee Mouth Parts
Most bumble bees, except for the young queens, have only a few weeks left to live, but until a killing frost arrives, they will be gathering pollen and nectar for themselves and their colony. The various mouth parts that enable them to collect food are hidden behind the large lip that you see when you face a bumble bee head on.
Behind this lip, there are multiple structures that are adapted to grasp, shape and collect food. These include jaws, or mandibles, which clasp pollen and wax used to form cells for eggs. Under the mandibles are two long sheaths that also grasp and shape food called maxillae. Two labial palps located under the maxillae serve as taste sensors. Both of these structures, the maxillae and palps, form a horny sheath which protects the bee’s tongue.
Nectar is accessed with a proboscis which is basically a tube that is protected by the mandible, maxillae and labial palps. A tongue-like structure called a glossa protrudes from the proboscis. Its hairy tip is well suited for collecting nectar.
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Hummingbird Clearwing Moths Pollinating Flowers
The Hummingbird Clearwing Moth (Hemaris thysbe) is a familiar sight to anyone with a garden full of beebalm, phlox, verbena or butterfly bush. Clearly named after its similar appearance and hovering behavior to hummingbirds (as well as its partially transparent wings where scales have fallen off) this day-flying moth is an excellent pollinator.
Because its tongue, or proboscis, is so long, the Hummingbird Clearwing Moth can reach nectar located at the base of tubular-shaped flowers. If you look closely at this photograph, you’ll see a tiny clump of pollen near the base of the moth’s proboscis. The structure of the Beebalm (Monarda sp.) it’s visiting is such that the stigmas (tips of the pollen-bearing male structures, or stamens) projecting from the upper lip of the flower are located where the moth will come in contact with them as it inserts its proboscis down into the flower’s nectaries. Hummingbird Clearwings carry their proboscis rolled up under their head and unfurl it when approaching a flower. (Thanks to Sally Fellows and Terry Marron for photo opportunity.)
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Robber Flies Capturing Prey
The robber fly family, Asilidae, is one of the largest families of flies. All robber flies are predaceous and are recognized by their long bodies, forward-facing beaks and a tuft of hairs above the beak. You find them on the ground or on leaf tips and other sunny spots where they survey the area for flying insects. Once a robber fly has spotted a suitably-sized prey, it darts out and impales it with its stout beak. It then inserts its needlelike “tongue” into the prey’s neck, eye or other weak spot, immobilizing the insect and liquefying its innards with an injection of saliva that contains nerve poisons and enzymes that break down proteins. Finally, it drinks its meal. Pictured is a species of robber fly in the genus Diogmites, whose members are known for dangling by a foreleg while dining.
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Dragonflies & Damselflies Spear Prey With Lower Lip
Dragonflies and damselflies are unique among aquatic insect larvae in that they have a greatly enlarged hinged lower lip, or labium, which they can rapidly extend outwards to capture prey. When retracted, the prehensile labium fits like a mask over the face or is folded flat beneath the insect’s head. When hunting for prey, the dragonfly larva uses its labium like a speargun. It shoots forward as far as half the larva’s body length away, and moveable hooks on the front edge grab the prey. There are no muscles at the hinge/joint, leading entomologists to believe that the labium is extended by increased blood pressure caused by abdominal muscle contraction. It unfolds at a right angle, and extends extremely rapidly, faster than most prey can react. (photo: cast skin of dragonfly larva from which adult dragonfly emerged)
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