Helping Bees Look for Food

Bumblebees learn the sweet smell of foraging success is a Biology News Net article which points out differences in the ways bumblebees and honeybees search for food. Honeybees communicate sources of food through a waggle dance. The waggle dance gives bees in the nest information about the distance and direction of food sources.

Bumblebees rely on the release of a recruitment pheromone to facilitate the food gathering process. They can also bring back flower scents which clue in other bumblebees to look for the relevant flowers.