If you can choose, bees prefer to take a "sip" of nectar with small amounts of nicotine and caffeine than nectar "dry" , according to a study by the University of Haifa (Israel). In nature, nicotine is found in the nectar of tobacco tree flowers, while caffeine is common in the flowers of citrus and grapevines.
To test the extent to which insects showed a predilection for these substances, biologist Ido Izhaki and his colleagues offered a group of bees different types of nectar, some artificially enriched with high doses of caffeine and nicotine. The results revealed that bees always opt for nectar in which these two addictive substances are more abundant.
The researchers postulate that, in view of the results, it can be deduced that the plants that reached a balanced level of these two substances in their flowers had evolutionary advantages. And they insist that the results show only a preference for nectar with caffeine and / or nicotine on the part of bees, and that further studies will have to be done to determine if they can become "addicted" to both drugs.
