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Digestive system

Digestive system of honey bee

Digestive system of honey bee worker. After Michener (1974, fig 1.11) [1].

Abbreviations:
An - anus
Cb - cibarium
Cr - crop
Ephy - epipharynx
Int - intestine
Mal - Malpighian tubules
Mth - mouth
Oe - oesophagus
Phy - pharynx
Prvent - proventriculus
Rect - rectum
rp - rectal pad
Vent - ventriculus (midgut)

Hindgut consists of: pylorus, ileum, and rectum [2]. It plays an important role in haemolymph homeostasis. In hindgut water, ions and some small molecules are selectively reabsorbed from primary urine produced in the Malpighian tubules [3].

References

  1. Michener C.D. (1974) The social behavior of the bees: a comparative study. Harvard Univ. Press., Cambridge, Mass.
  2. Gonçalves W.G., Fernandes K.M., Santana W.C., Martins G.F., Zanuncio J.C., Serrão J.E. (2017) Post-embryonic changes in the hindgut of honeybee Apis mellifera workers: Morphology, cuticle deposition, apoptosis, and cell proliferation. Developmental biology 431:194–204.
  3. Phillips J.E., Hanrahan J., Chamberlin M., Thomson B. (1987) Mechanisms and control of reabsorption in insect hindgut. Advances in insect physiology 19:329–422.
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