Describe how the honeybee uses its antennae cleaner?

Answer 1

A bee's antennae are very sensitive structures which are detectors for touch, vibration, taste, CO2 levels, temperature, relative humidity and above all smell. Bees live in a world of scent and their sense of smell is so sensitive that they can detect a single molecule of some substances.
An organ this sensitive has to be kept very clean so the bee has an antenna cleaner on each front leg. It is made up of two parts:

• a semicircular notch on the inside at the base (nearest the body) of the basitarsus. This is lined with stiff bristles which form a comb;
• a small hard flap called a fibula attached to the distal (furthest from the body) end of the tibia. A small projection of the inside edge of the tibia overlaps it on the inside.

To clean its antenna, the bee moves its leg so that the antenna is trapped by the notch. The joint between the basitarsus and tibia is then bent which brings the fibula across the opening of the notch. It is held firm by the projection on the tibia. The antenna is then drawn through and the pollen and dust are removed by the comb in the notch and the scaping action of the fibula.
For those with an aversion to latin names, I'm sorry but there was no alternative. To make things easier have a look at the related link. That shows a bumble bee's leg, but a honey bee's leg is very similar.