Clever bees can identify different flowers by patterns of scent
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Flowers have lots of different patterns on their surfaces that help to guide bees and other pollinators towards the flower’s nectar, speeding up pollination.
These patterns include visual signals like lines pointing to the centre of the flower, or colour differences.
A captive bumblebee walks across the surface of an artificial flower, working out the pattern of scent that has been made by placing peppermint oil in some of the holes. Image credit: Dave Lawson, University of Bristol
Flowers are also known to have different patterns of scent across their surface, and so a visiting bee might find that the centre of the flower smells differently to the edge of the petals.
https://www.technology.org/2018/06/15/clever-bees-can-identify-different-flowers-by-patterns-of-scent/
