Raising the Head Facilitates Grooming of the Antennae of Bees

Antennae are significant chemosensory and mechanosensory organs for insects and need careful maintenance. Bees use a pair of comb-like tools located on the forelimbs to brush and remove contaminants from their antennae. We filmed antenna grooming in three different bee species and observed that all bees raise their heads while grooming their antennae. We conducted a study to examine the effects of the distinctive grooming apparatus, as well as the antenna’s material and structural characteristics, on grooming behavior in both free-head and constrained-head scenarios. Head-raising increases the grooming speed by 300% compared to the situation where the head is constrained. It allows the bees to scrape the antennae 5 times per second. In addition, we proposed a mechanical model based on the morphological data to determine that raising the head increases the contact force by 50%. These findings will facilitate the development of innovative approaches for cleaning extended structures featuring bristly surfaces. © Jilin University 2025.