A new research has shown that bumblebees are able to accurately detect and choose between flowers that have different levels of humidity next to the surface of the flower
A new study shows that bumblebees may use the humidity of a flower to tell them about the presence of nectar. According to scientists at the Universities of Bristol and Exeter, bumblebees may use the humidity of a flower to tell them about the presence of nectar. The research has shown that bumblebees can accurately detect and choose between flowers that have different levels of humidity next to the surface of the flower.
The study, published this week in the Journal of Experimental Biology, showed that bees could be trained to differentiate between two types of artificial flowers with different levels of humidity if only one of the types of flowers provided the bee with a reward of sugar water.
To make sure that the artificial flowers mimicked the humidity patterns seen in real flowers, the researchers built a robotic sensor that was able to accurately measure the shape of the humidity patterning.
Dr Michael Harrap carried out the research whilst based at the University of Bristol’s School of Biological Sciences and is the lead author of the study. He said: “We know that different species of plants produce flowers that have distinct patterns of humidity, which differ from the surrounding air. Knowing that bees might use these patterns to help them find food shows that flowers have evolved a huge variety of different ways of attracting pollinators, that make use of all the pollinators’ senses.”
Dr Sean Rands, Senior Lecturer in the University of Bristol’s School of Biological Sciences, added: “If humidity patterns are important for attracting pollinators, they are likely to be one of several different signals (such as colour, scent, and pattern) that a flower is using at the same time, and could help the bee to identify and handle the flower more efficiently.
