Caffeinated plants give bees a buzz

A morning caffeine dose is something that so many of us find irresistible, and according to research, foraging bees seek a similar buzz.

Many plants produce caffeine, primarily as a naturally bitter deterrent against plant-devouring insects, like caterpillars.

But an experiment with caffeinated nectar has now shown bees are attracted to and even "drugged" by the compound.

The research is published in the journal Current Biology.

Prof Francis Ratnieks from the University of Sussex, a senior member of the research team explained that previous research had shown that caffeine boosted bees' memories of the location of a flower.

"So people [already] thought it would affect their perception of nectar," he told BBC News.

To find out if this was the case, the research team set up two artificial flowers for -READ MORE- BBC LINK-http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-34532636