You can train a dog to pick up specific scents by allowing them to sniff an object with that scent and sending them off to find the same scent. You can do this same thing with honeybees. Honeybees were found to pollinate sunflowers more often when they were given food that was scented just like sunflowers. You can actually train them to want to seek out the scent that they were given with the sunflowers. We can use this method to get honeybees to pollinate more often.
Key Takeaways:
- According to a report in the September edition of Current Biology, it is possible to scent train honeybees in the hive, making them more efficient in pollinating crops.
- According to researchers, honeybees can be conditioned within the colony, which modifies their behaviors later in a different environment.
- Honeybee researchers are looking at a variety of pollinator-dependent crops, including pears, almonds, and apples.
“This increased visitation and foraging on sunflowers also boosted the flowers’ production of seeds by 29 to 57 percent.”
Read more: https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-scent-train-honeybees-to-boost-sunflower-seed-production/
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