Honeybees may have an advantage over other pollinators – caffeine improves performance. The findings, from Newcastle University, show that honeybees recognise caffeine in a variety of flowers, which helps them come back to the plants later.
Bees were three times more likely to remember flowers with caffeine in nectar, even up to 24 hours later. This shows that caffeine may improve short-term memory, and could have the same effect in humans.
Bees extend their mouth-parts on reflex when a sweet scent is detected. Researchers used this and conditioned bees to differentiate between nectar with and without caffeine.
Read more at Newcastle University