Pollen basket

Definition

A specialized concave area fringed with stiff, incurved hairs (the corbicula) located on the outer face of the tibia of the hind leg in female bees (Apoidea). The structure functions as a transport organ: moistened pollen is packed into the basket and held securely by the hair fringe during flight, allowing bees to return large pollen loads to the nest or hive. The corbicula is a synapomorphy of corbiculate bees (honey bees, bumble bees, stingless bees, and orchid bees) and is distinct from the simpler scopa, a brush-like hair array used by many other bees for pollen transport.

Etymology

Latin corbicula, diminutive of corbis 'basket', referring to the hair-fringed structure.

Example

A foraging worker honey bee (Apis mellifera) packs pollen grains into her pollen baskets, which may each carry up to 15 mg of pollen—appearing as bright yellow or orange masses on the hind legs—before returning to the hive to deposit the load as bee bread.

Synonyms

• corbicula

Related Terms

• scopa
• tibia
• pollen load
• Bee bread
• corbiculate bee
• pollen packing
• Apis
• Bombus

Usage Notes

The term 'pollen basket' is the common English equivalent of corbicula; specialists often prefer 'corbicula' in morphological descriptions. The structure is present only in females (workers and queens) of corbiculate bees and is absent in males and in most non-corbiculate bees, which instead carry pollen on scopal hairs elsewhere on the body. The pollen basket should not be confused with the pollen press, a joint mechanism that pushes pollen up into the basket.