News Animals

Bumblebees lose most of their sense of smell after heat waves

The ability to smell flowers is crucial for helping bees find food

bumblebee

Bumblebees, like this common carder bee (Bombus pascuorum), rely partly on scent to find flowers on which to feed. Heat waves may hamper their ability to smell such flowers.

Sabine Nooten

By Gennaro Tomma

Heat waves don’t just make bumblebees hot. The high temperatures also seem to drastically reduce their sense of smell — with possible negative effects on the survival of colonies.