Bees’ secret superpower explained: How they sense flowers’ e
Posted: Tue May 31, 2016 10:54 am
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/spe ... ic-fields/
"It turned out that flowers develop varied sizes and shapes in order to force bees into a monogamous relationship with them — since the insects have to invest a lot of time in learning how to extract nectar, once they figure out how to do so they're reluctant to keep flying around. But even more surprising was how bees are able to tell what kind of flower they're looking at.
In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday, Sutton reported that the fuzz that covers bees' bodies helps the tiny critters sense flowers' natural electric fields, allowing them to home in on their favorite plants to pollinate.
"The bumblebees can feel that hair bend and use that feeling to tell the difference between flowers," Sutton told NPR."
"It turned out that flowers develop varied sizes and shapes in order to force bees into a monogamous relationship with them — since the insects have to invest a lot of time in learning how to extract nectar, once they figure out how to do so they're reluctant to keep flying around. But even more surprising was how bees are able to tell what kind of flower they're looking at.
In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday, Sutton reported that the fuzz that covers bees' bodies helps the tiny critters sense flowers' natural electric fields, allowing them to home in on their favorite plants to pollinate.
"The bumblebees can feel that hair bend and use that feeling to tell the difference between flowers," Sutton told NPR."