15/08/2025
How do butterflies and bees hear?
It’s been such a glorious week and, here at Lakeland Hearing, that means we've been able to sit out and make the most of our beautiful gardens at lunchtime. We’ve loved seeing butterflies, and honey and bumble bees enjoying all of the flowers. Even on her break, it sparked extra ear inspiration for our audiologist Vicky. “It got me thinking about how butterflies and bees hear,” she says.
So, for Vicky and any other arthropod fans out there… here are some fun facts for Friday that we hope you’ll find as fascinating as we do!
Instead of ears on their head, some butterflies have tiny, specialised hearing organs called tympanal organs at the base of their wings! These are essentially thin, stretched membranes that vibrate when sound waves hit them, much like our eardrum. The vibrations are then converted into nerve signals that the butterfly can interpret.
Some butterflies also utilise other structures, like inflated wing veins, to enhance their hearing, particularly for low-frequency sounds.
Bees mainly hear through the Johnston's organ in their antennae. This is a collection of hundreds of sensory cells that detect the movement of the flagellum, which is the long, thin tip of the antenna. The Johnston's organ registers these vibrations and converts them into nerve impulses that are sent to the bee's brain.
This mechanism allows bees to detect near-field sounds, such as the buzz of a dancing bee, which is crucial for communication within the hive.
Bees also possess Subgenual organs in their legs which are particularly sensitive to vibrations traveling through a solid surface. This means a bee can feel the vibrations of the honeycomb, a leaf, or any other surface it's standing on.
When we are inside the clinic, we are, of course, equally interested in people's ears and hearing. Get in touch with our friendly, experienced and highly trained team of audiologists if you'd like to discuss any challenges you're experiencing with your hearing. https://lakelandhearing.co.uk/
