Friday, August 16, 2019

No Wonder I Like Bees...!

Ever wonder why the lowly bee is a favorite of so many folks? This article from Listverse might explain that.

Caffeinated Bees



You know that fiendish caffeine addiction that keeps swarms of humans buzzing in and out of cafes to get regular coffee fixes? It turns out that bees are also hooked on the stuff, too. Apparently, 55 percent of flowering plants produce caffeine in their nectar. Bees are more likely to go to the caffeinated nectar, and they get really excited over it.

In an experiment published in the journal Current Biology, researchers filled two containers with nectar and added caffeine to one of them. Bees that drank the caffeinated nectar were more likely to perform the waggle dance for other bees upon returning to the hive, which is essentially how they tell the others about the quality and location of the nectar they find.[10] The caffeinated nectar caused the bees to dance more vigorously, indicating that the quality of the nectar was better than it actually was.

This isn’t surprising, since a lot of us use caffeine to at least appear enthusiastic about work. The caffeine-producing plants are likely to attract lots of bees, since the bee visitors give them such glowing reviews, thus assuring that their pollen gets spread around.

I guess we have more in common with brother bee than we thought. The very thought kinda gives me a Buzz, ya know?

Coffee out on the rain cooled patio this morning. Watch out for the bee, OK?

8 comments:

Mamahen said...

I never know what I will learn here. Very interesting...A cool patio sounds good! Thanks for the invite and enjoy your weekend:))

Gorges Smythe said...

Little junkie are they? - lol

linda m said...

That is really interesting. Glad to know another species loves caffeine as much as I do. Have a great weekend.

HermitJim said...

Hey Mamahen...
I do like to keep things interesting if I can.
Thanks for stopping by today!

Hey Gorges...
It would appear so, and that's OK.
Thanks for coming over today!

Hey Linda...
Seems a good reason for a kinship, right?
Thanks for the visit today!

JO said...

Well that is interesting. Wonder why I don't do the wiggle

Patio sounds so nice and refreshing

HermitJim said...

Hey Jo...
You can do the wiggle on my patio anytime, dear.
Thanks for dropping by today!

Sixbears said...

No wonder they are so busy.

Dizzy-Dick said...

Caffeine is good. I like it. Maybe that is why I put four scoops of coffee grounds in my cup of coffee.