Multidisciplinary evidence deciphers the division of labor in bumblebee foraging
Recently, an interdisciplinary team composed of Prof. WANG Bo from the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGPAS), Prof. WU Jianing from Sun Yat-sen University, and Prof. ZHAO Jieliang from Beijing Institute of Technology provided a new explanation for the foraging division of labor mechanism in bumblebees from the perspectives of fluid dynamics, morphology, and ecology. The study revealed that subtle variations in the microstructure of functional organs can influence division of labor at the colony level. The paper was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on January 12, 2026.
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