Caffeine helps bees with pollination

Caffeine stimulates not only humans but also certain animals. The flowers that contain caffeine provide energy and strengthen the memory of bees. It has been proven that this substance allows bees to remember the location where these flowers are found.

Bees have a developed sense of smell; it’s one of the most crucial senses for them to perform their natural functions. They locate themselves in spaces thanks to their antennae and track the flowers.

The smell of caffeine helps bees remember the scents of the best flowers

In recent research, a team led by Sarah Arnold, an ecologist from the University of Greenwich in the United Kingdom, revealed that caffeine improves bees’ memory and allows them to return more often to the best flowers. This type of nectar allows them to find flowers with more nutrients in their components.

Benefits bees get from caffeine

The study published in Current Biology notes that caffeine helps bees in the following ways:

• More energy and activity
• Improvement in memory
• They work better and are more efficient
• They stay more motivated
• Better distinction of odors
• Stimulates spatial memory

The sample consisted of 86 specimens. One group consumed caffeine with sugar, and the other, sugar. They were presented with a synthetic strawberry scent, and then released in a controlled environment to observe their behavior. There were other distracting smells in the environment. These were the results:

• More than 70% of the bees that consumed caffeine were more skilled
• The remaining group managed to locate the synthetic-scented flower, but it took much longer

In short, caffeine improves memory in bees! Did you know this? Comment on our social networks about what you thought of this article.

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