It is usual for bumblebees to leave a scent from its nimble feet on the flowers it visited. Besides, it can determine the distinctness between the smell of the feet of the other family members from those of other insects, research suggests.
Bumblebees smell the footprint odors in order to track down flowers which still contain the nectar they used as food. The same process goes for detecting flowers which were already drained of nutrients by family members or other insects as reported by a scientist based in a new study according to Live Science.
"Bumblebees secrete a substance whenever they touch their feet to a surface, much like us leaving fingerprints on whatever we touch," Richard Pearce, a scientist at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom, said in a statement.
Pearce, along with his team conducted three experiments providing buff-tailed bumblebees (Bombus terrestris), the selection of four flowers placed in containers saturated with either water. Flowers which contained water are called unrewarding flowers while those that contained sucrose are called rewarding flowers. During the experiment, the flowers have the odorous trace from the insect itself, footprint from a bee from a different hive or tracks from a bee of the same nest.
The researchers are not certain for now how bumblebees use its rancid tracks to aim at specific flowers in the wild. The tracks left by the nest mate could have implied that the flower has no nectar and needs to find other flowers which still contain the succulent nectar. It could also mean that the target flower promises good food.
According to New Scientist, in the UK, the University of Bristol researchers discovered that bumblebees can determine their own smell from a relative or a stranger. This skill can be utilized to enhance their progress in locating good sources of food. In addition, it will also save time for the insects not to forage anymore on flowers that have been sucked up of its nutrients.
Meanwhile, a bumblebee species (Bombus affinity ) was already listed as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Its population declined to almost 90 percent since the late 1990s. The rusty patched bumble bee got its name from the eye-catching reddish smudge on its abdomen.
It once thrived throughout 28 states, mainly in the upper Midwest and Northeast. The bumblebee also lives from South Dakota to Connecticut and throughout Ontario and Quebec.
