Two or more adult bees, facing each other, with antennaeantenna:
paired, slender, and jointed segmented appendages on the bee head; primary taste, touch and smell receptors. Antennation refers to how bees interact using their antennae to communicate various messages such as food exchange and distribution of queen pheromones.
and mouthparts in contact, usually inside the hive or at hive entrance. Common trophallaxis behavior witnessed includes: field bees passing nectar to hive bees, adult bees in hives sharing food or pheromones with queens, workers feeding drones, and workers (queen retinue) feeding their queen. Technically, trophallaxis is a two-way exchange, but in honey bees it is usually unidirectional.
Collison C. 2017. A Closer Look: Trophallaxis. Bee Culture. Accessed 2023. https://www.beeculture.com/a-closer-look-2/
“Trophallaxis”. YouTube, uploaded by MRJEberhardt, 9 June 2010, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXCjUT1p-jA
