Bees prefer nectar with small amounts of nicotine and caffeine over nectar that does not comprise these substances at all, a study from the University of Haifa reveals.

…Bees prefer nectar with small amounts of nicotine and caffeine over nectar that does not comprise these substances at all, a study from the University of Haifa reveals. This could be an evolutionary development intended, as in humans, to make the bee addicted, states Prof. Ido Izhaki, one of the researchers who conducted the study.
Flower nectar is primarily comprised of sugars, which provide energy for the potential pollinators. But the floral nectar of some plant species also includes small quantities of substances known to be toxic, such as caffeine and nicotine. The present study, carried out by researchers at the Department of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology and the Department of Science Education at the University of Haifa-Oranim, headed by Prof. Ido Izhaki along with Prof. Gidi Ne’eman, Prof. Moshe Inbar and Dr. Natarajan Singaravelan, examined whether these substances are intended to entice the bees or whether they are byproducts that are not necessarily linked to any such objective.
Nicotine…

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Are bees also addicted to caffeine and nicotine?

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