The tongue of an insect is known as the glossa or hypopharynx. The structure and size of these hypopharynges vary with different insects. If you are looking for – what insect has the longest tongue, then this article might help you to get your accurate answer.
The external features of an insect’s head show proboscis, which consists of different appendages like stipes, paraglossa, glossa, and labial palpus; sometimes, some authors express the insect tongue as proboscis, but it really means the hypopharynx or glossa.
Quick answer: honey bee and Wallace sphinx moth has the longest tongue. Here, the honey bee is considered the true insect, whereas the sphinx moth is a pest of grapes.
So, the true insect, the honey bee, contains only the longest tongue. Here, I will explain the anatomical facts of the tongue both from the honey bee and Wallace sphinx moth.
Again, I will show the main difference between the term proboscis and tongue (glossa) of an insect with the diagram. Finally, I will provide information on the longest tongue of different creatures or animals.
So, if you want to see the insect with the longest tongue with its anatomical facts, let’s continue this article until the end.
What insect has the longest tongue
First, you should understand how the tongue is formed in an insect. Do all insects possess a tongue? The answer is – no; not all insects (for example – ants) don’t possess a tongue.
The length and structure of the insect tongue are not similar. You may find hypopharynx (a tongue-like structure) or real glossa (tongue) in different types of insects.
The tongues are highly modified, reduced, and even longer in insects (I will discuss this topic later). So, the question is – what insect has the longest tongue?
Normally, you will see the longest tongue in a true insect, like a honey bee. Again, the pest – Wallace sphinx moth also possesses the longest tongue.
The pest may be considered as the insect (as they possess all the features of an ideal insect). But, not all pests are classified as true insects.
If you see the external anatomical features of the honey bee’s mouthpart, you will find the long single glossae (tongue). Again, in the structure of a Wallace sphinx moth’s mouthpart, there presence the longest tongues.
Here, I tried to show you the longest tongue of a honey bee (worker). Actually, the full diagram shows the transverse section of the honey bee proboscis.
The anterior longer structure is the fused glossae or tongue of the honey bee. Again, the diagram shows a pointed portion on the top of the glossae (known as flabellum).
The right and left labial palp and galea are also identified in this diagram. You will find the paraglossa at the upper part of the glossae (tongue) of the honey bee’s proboscis.
General insect tongue – hypopharynx
In this section, I will discuss a little on the structure of the tongue or hypopharynx of a general insect. So that you may understand the basic difference between the general insect and honey bee tongues.
In a general insect, the hypopharynx is an unpaired tongue-like structure in the mouth part. Most of the hypopharynx is membranous, but the adoral face is sclerotized dorsally.
You will find a pair of suspensory sclerites in the structure of the insect’s hypopharynx. This structure of the insect may extend upward to end in the lateral wall of the stomodeum (foregut of insect).
There is a salivarium in between the hypopharynx and the cranial side of the distal part of a labium. This salivarium is a pocket-like structure in the mouth part of an insect where the salivary ducts open.
You will see different muscles that attach to the structure of the mouth part or hypopharynx of an insect. Most of the muscles arise from the frons and are inserted into the lingual sclerites.
These muscles of the lingual sclerites serve to swing the hypopharynx forward and back. Some insects (like a cockroach) have more muscles on the hypopharynx that dilate the salivary orifice and expand the salivarium.
There are 2 lateral lobes present in the hypopharynx of some insects (like agile insects, blue wing olive, ring legged earwigs). Again, in some of the insects, muscle is missing, especially in correlation with a reduced salivarium.
Hypopharynx (tongue) in different insects
There is a great variation found in the hypopharynx (tongue) of different insect species. Here, I will only provide a little information on the variation of the hypopharynx of the different insects.
In hexapods (butterflies), the hypopharynx is greatly modified and reduced compared to other insects. Again, this hypopharynx is greatly reduced in size in Hymenoptera (bees, ants).
You will see the fused hypopharynx with the distal part of the labium of coleopteran (beetle). Both the Hymenoptera nor coleopteran does not possess salivarium.
The hypopharynx is perforated by the canal of a salivary pump and continues with the food canal in hemipterans. Now, let’s see how the proboscis of bee and hawk moth is formed.
The proboscis of hawk moth and bees
The conspicuous group of mouth appendages of the worker honey bee forms the proboscis. With the help of this proboscis, bee and Wallace sphinx moth take up the liquid.
In the structure of the honey bee proboscis, you will find the followings –
- Labrum and mandible,
- Maxillary palps,
- Paired (right and left) galea,
- Right and left labial palps, and
- Paraglossa and glossae,
Let’s know a little about these structures of the honey bee proboscis with the labeled diagram.
Here, the mandible, labrum, and maxillae are the paired appendages of the proboscis of a honey bee. But, their structure may vary in different types of bees.
The labium of the honey bee forms the median appendage group separate from the lateral part of the maxillae. There are mentum and submentum plates at the basal median appendage.
The mentum is the principal elongated median basal plate, whereas the submentum is the small triangular plate at its base. Two lateral mentum joins with the labia palpi.
The mandible of the honey bee cuts and crushes food and also use as a defense mechanism. In other insects like beetle and termite, these mandibles are stronger and more rigid.
You will find the maxilla of the honey bee just behind the mandible, which contains proximal cardo and distal stipes. Two lobes – lacinia and galea attach to the stipes of the maxillae of the honey bee.
You will also find the maxillary palps (pulpus) in the structure of the honey bee’s proboscis. The labium of the bee attaches to the ventral surface of the head through the gula.
The labium of the bee also contains the labial palps, glossae, and more lateral paraglossal.
Longest tongue in honey bee structure
From this section, you will learn why and how the honey bee (insect) has the longest tongue. The glossae and paraglossal (sometimes distal part of the prementum) are collectively known as the ligula (tongue) of the honey bee.
The glossa of the honey bee is larger in size and covered with long hair. Again, the length of these hairs increases towards the end of the glossa.
You will see a small spoon-shaped lobe at the tip of the glossa. This spoon-shaped lobe is known as the labellum or bouton.
You will see short, delicate processes at the end of the labellum of a honey bee. The arrangements of the long hairs on the bees’ glossa have 2 patterns –
- A circular arrangement of delicate hairs on glossa, and
- Transverse rows of hairs on the base of glossa,
These two arrangement patterns of the long hairs on the glossa of a bee give the tongue a multiarticulate appearance. Again, you will find 2 subterminal rows of hair on the ventral surface of the glossa (at the base of the labella).
These are spinelike hairs and have an outward curved appearance. The spinelike hairs protect the insect’s (bee) tongue and are considered the taste organs.
At the ventral surface of the bee’s tongue, you will see a groove where these spines, like hairs, end.
The flabellum of the insect’s tongue (honey bee) may use for different functions. It may use to manipulate the wax to construct their nest.
Again, they (insect–bees) use this flabellum to feed their larvae, groom, and remove nest debris.
The glossa or tongue of the Wallace sphinx moth is longer than these of the worker honey bee.
More inquiries on tongues of animals and insects
Now, in this section, I will try to provide concise answers to the questions that are asked by insect lovers. You will find a great difference (distinct) in the structure between animal and insect tongues.
Let’s see the following questions and answers that only focused on the tongue of insects and other creatures (animals).
What animal (creature) has the longest tongue?
The structure and external anatomical facts of the tongue of different animals are almost similar. But, the shape and size (length) varies with different species. You will find the longest tongue in giant anteaters and giraffes.
Again, sun bears, chameleons, nectar bats, and pangolins also possess the longest tongue. Let’s see the length of the tongue of these animals from Table 1 –
| Animals | Length of tongue |
| Giant anteater | 18 – 25 inches |
| Giraffes | 15 – 21 inches |
| Sun bear | 9 – 12 inches |
| Chameleon | 125 – 145 inches |
| Nectar bat | 8 – 9 inches |
| Pangolins | 15 – 25 inches |
What moth has the longest tongue or proboscis?
The Wallace sphinx moth possesses the longest tongue, which is nearly about 12 – 18 inches. Again, if you think about the largest proboscis in insects, you may enlist the worker honey bee.
The honey bee possesses a longer proboscis (along with the glossa) which is about 1. 5 inches long.
Which animal has a tongue longer than its body?
Generally, nectar bats and chameleon possess the long tongue that their body. You will find an average 8 – 9 inches long tongue in a nectar bat.
Whereas the chameleon possesses a 125 – 145 inches (average) long tongue. Let’s see the average length of the body and tongue of these 2 species from table 2 –
| Animals | Body length | Tongue Length |
| Chameleon | 10 – 15 inches | 125 – 145 inches |
| Nectar bat | 5 – 8 inches | 8 – 9 inches |
Conclusion
I hope you understand why and what insect has the longest tongue. Among the different types of insects, the worker honey bee and Wallace sphinx moth have the longest tongue.
But, sometimes, the Wallace sphinx moth is not considered the true insect (they are grapes pests). In that case, only the worker honey bee possesses the longest tongue among the insects.
