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Morphometric analysis demonstrates that head width and forewing dimensions predict functional proboscis length in honey bees, indicating anatomical constraints on nectar foraging behavior.
Three measurements on the left forewing, and head width, were used to predict functional proboscis length of honey bees (Apis mellifera ligustica). Functional length of the proboscis (FLP) is a measure of the depth that the proboscis can be extended to reach nectar in tubular flowers and is operationally the depth of a vertical capillary tube (inside diam = 1mm) emptied of sucrose solution. The morphometric characters were useful predictors of FLP, which may affect honey been foraging behavior.
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Waddington et al. (1987) studied this question.
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