Sugar high for bees

Wednesday, October 12, 2011 - 13:30 in Biology & Nature

Mathematicians have found that efficient feeding depends on how sugary a flower's nectar is, and whether an animal dips or sucks the nectar out. The researchers found that animals such as bees, which probe with their tongues, are "viscous dippers," and are most efficient when feeding on more sugary, or viscous, nectar. Suction feeders, such as birds and butterflies that draw nectar up through tubes, do their best when sucking up thinner, less sugary nectar.

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