The BBC report that “The earliest rising bee catches the best flower and ultimately the best meal, according to research.

A study has found that bees are better at learning new odours in the morning.

This early brain power may have evolved to help the insects sniff out flowering plants and forage for nectar more efficiently.

An experiment in which a team tested more than 1,000 bees is described in the journal Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology.”

To study the bees’ ability to learn, the scientists captured 1,000 forager honeybees (Apis mellifera). They trained groups of the insects at different times of the day to associate a new odour with a food reward.

Capturing a 1,000 bees will be small scale to anyone who has dealt with a swarm, but hands up, which of you have then gone on to train them in groups?

Read more at www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-10892913

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• Giovanni Galizia
• Journal article: Circadian rhythmicity influences learning performance in honey bees, Apis mellifera