Bees are one of nature's most amazing gifts to itself. It plays a major role in keeping nature balanced and always growing.
Bees are one of the most important pollinators, helping plants and flowers flourish.
In a recent study, scientists have found that some plants are tricking bees into believing that they have high amounts of nectar with sucrose in them using caffeine.
This unbelievable phenomenon has bewildered some scientists, although this certain "trick" by plants and flowers give them an advantage in maximizing their pollination, it does not go the same way with bees.
The caffeine in the plants become addictive to the bees and makes them abnormally hyper.
Bees have a way of communicating with each other and that is through a movement using their abdomens, or some scientists call it, "dancing."
Upon ingesting caffeine from the plants the bee's hyperactivity level leads them to dance four times as much.
To understand this phenomenon, scientists from the University of Sussex tested bees, creating an experimental environment for them that contained two artificial flowers, one had nectar consisting of water and sucrose, while the other one had caffeine.
Directly the bees choose the caffeinated flower over the water and sucrose one.
The scientists then tagged these bees with individual identification and monitored them as the bees went back to their hives.
They determined that the bees were "dancing" more, communicating to the other bees about the caffeinated flower. This prompted other bees to visit the flower.
Caffeine helps the plant in maximizing their pollination but it does not really mean that it is good for the bees too.
Because according to the scientists caffeinated plants don't necessarily have the superior nectar, instead they might even have lower sucrose levels than those that don't produce caffeine.
The only thing that bees get from the caffeine is a sharper memory of the caffeinated flower or plant.
