Female Ptiloglossa bees are single moms with a lot to do and little time. Fortunately, they can use a feathery tongue to make infant-care plastics and then brew up batches of baby food.
Chemically, the bee-made plastic is a cousin of human-made polyesters. A big gland on a female’s abdomen secretes Tinkertoy-like molecules of repeating lactone compounds, each with its “ester” structural bit that gives polyester its name.
The stuff makes the finishing touch for little urn-shaped nursery chambers that mother bees dig underground. They use their paintbrush tongues to lick up the gland secretion and slather it on nursery walls.
The plastic layer is transparent, tough and “can be kind of crunchy,” Buchmann says. It’s “thought to keep the brood chamber area nice and cozy, high-humidity and also to keep out the bad guys.”
2023-06-14 08:00:00
Source from www.sciencenews.org