Body alignment enhances foraging performance of honey bees in the absence of visual cues

Nectar sources are often confined to limited amounts of liquid in the microgrooves of floral nectaries. We show that in complete darkness, bees actively tapped their antennae to detect these microgrooves, and then rapidly aligned their body axis with these structures. Mechanical measurements confirm that aligning the body with the microgrooves at θ = 0 deg. reduces the external force on the proboscis during nectar feeding. Energy calculations demonstrate that feeding with an aligned body reduces foraging costs by 53.41 % compared to feeding with a vertical body at θ = 90 deg. By demonstrating the bee's capacity for sensory-behavioral integration and adaptation in absence of visual cues, this body alignment response, which also mitigates potential proboscis damage, provides new insights into their energy-saving strategies.