I love looking at ways that wildlife and human lives emulate each other – we are after all, just another animal. So when I found out that flowers are coffee stops for bees, I just had to find out more. If you’re drinking a coffee reading this now, perhaps it might help to explain why you find it so delicious. It turns out, it helps keep ecosystemsHow ecosystems function An ecosystem is a community of lifeforms that interact in such an optimal way that how ecosystems function best, is when all components (including humans and other animals) can persist and live alongside each other for the longest time possible. Ecosystems are fuelled by the energy created by plants (primary producers) that convert the Sun's heat energy More fully functioning. And when compared to the body size of humans, there is one animal that consumes caffeine like no other. It’s like bees drink 200 cups of coffee a day!
Why do plants contain caffeine?
As we’ve discussed before in this blog, plants that are grazed by the right animals, are more successful. Cultivation grazingHow animals evolve to graze selectively between patches, to promote greater plant growth between grazing periods. The ability to cultivate-graze is partly driven by an animals' parentage, through genetic fitness handed down over generations and it is partly learned. Knowing where to feed increases the carbon capture potential of an ecosystem and also plays a role in maximum entropy production. More by herbivores makes more leaves and by creating vegetation gaps, allows more plants to live together. Interacting animals and plants raise the bar, so to speak, so more of us can find enough food to eat and live healthy lives.
Caffeine is a natural insecticide, so why would bees want it? And it isn’t like insects don’t graze on plants continuously. In fact, the average plant is a home for many insects that spend their whole lives feeding on one plant.
Over half the plants on Earth contain caffeine and this is also because the stimulant increases repeated interaction with wildlife. The consequence? This maintains the diversity and richness of ecosystem structures and function(Of an ecosystem). A subset of ecosystem processes and structures, where the ecosystem does something that provides an ecosystem service of value to people. More. It increases the chance of our survival in nature.
How much is enough caffeine to drink?
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Your average cup of coffee contains just under 100 milligrams of caffeine while tea contains about half that (less if you drink green tea). Health experts suggest that you shouldn’t consume more than about 200 milligrams at a time and a massive study of 350,000 people found five cups to be optimal and the average person drinks three cups a day.
🐝🐝 Bees
One nectar-collecting honey bee might collect as much as 300 mg of drink a day. Flowers are coffee stops for bees and contain a similar concentration of caffeine as your average cup of coffee. On a comparison of body size, bees drink our equivalent 200 cups of coffee a day!
1. Caffeine makes bees and animals more productive
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Caffeine wakes you up by increasing your brain’s energy levels. You’re likely to be better at simple tasks that require constant work, such as vigilance exercises and sustained response.
🐝🐝 Bees
Well I guess there’s a reason why we have the expression ‘busy as a bee’. On nectar-collecting trips, an average honey bee might visit 1,000 flowers a day, repeating the same patterns day in, day out. On 200 cups of coffee a day, it’s no surprise they are so productive!
2. Animals on caffeine learn faster
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An optimal dose of coffee (one normal cup) allows your mind to identify words and phrases more quickly, problem-solve and remember things. Scientists think it’s connected to caffeine’s ability to stimulate the hormone Dopamine. That’s your brain’s happy chemical.
🐝🐝 Bees
Bees that were given caffeine performed three times better in learning and memory retention tests. By giving the bee a memory of its reward, it is more likely to revisit the flower and spread its pollen further.
3. Coffee stops make us sexier and more creative
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People are often more productive in coffee shops, not just because of the caffeine but also, the environment. Noise, as long as it isn’t too intense or distracting, can be positive. We’re also social animals, so we like to hang out among other people. Our foraging environment affects our ability to reproduce and survive. This is why cafés spend a fortune on decor and ambience. Cafés to humans are like flowers to the bees. It’s about offering just the right taste, dose and surroundings, so that everything functions perfectly.
🐝🐝 Bees
Bees that are given just the right amount of caffeine are more social. They are more likely to ‘waggle dance’, which is how they communicate to other bees, the location of nectar-rich flowers. They are more likely to visit their favourite flower-rich meadows more often, because flowers are like coffee stops for bees. And the result? A heartier colony that quadruples in size. For bees as much as humans, it’s all about communicating the best places to hang out and being social and surviving. I guess ultimately, that means it makes bees sexier too.
How much is too much caffeine?
For humans, more than about 500 mg of caffeine a day can create anxiety and increase our risk of health problems. Less than that can be good for us. But it’s not just how much we drink that matters, but why and where. It’s not enough just to have a coffee, we also need somewhere nice to enjoy it. It turns out, bees share this need too.
The sustained activity of what has become a multi billion dollar insect livestock trade on US almond farms, is undermining fragile ecosystems. Bees drink their 200 cups of coffee a day while literally working the environment (and themselves) to death. It’s the equivalent of giving factory-operators caffeine injections before introducing them into the poorest working conditions imaginable and never maintaining the machinery.
Bees and humans alike, survive better when coffee stops are made in nicer and more social surroundings. It’s what all animals need and it’s why we should be treating animals more as our equals, in the fight against ecosystem loss.
The final sip
While plant caffeine limits overconsumption, it also attracts animals. The plants wouldn’t contain it if they weren’t grazed. It seems to have no other use and is even stored in areas separate from the rest of the plant.
Plants and ecosystems need animals far more than we care to imagine. Abundant wildlife is essential for the long-term success of any species, including plants, so the caffeine has to act just as much as an incentive as a deterrent. And the whole ecosystem couldn’t reach a steady stable-state(of an ecosystem) where free surplus energy is minimised, where there is maximum entropy production and minimum waste. In such a system, there is expected to be relatively small fluctuations in atmospheric and other chemistry and where disruption or disturbance occurs, the resulting changes can be absorbed quickly by a succession of new plants and animals that enter to fill More unless this interaction was so well balanced, it could ensure continued but sustainable ‘attack’.
Caffeine is another invisible and fascinating sensory adaptation that ecosystems have evolved in order to sustain all our lives. The bees know its value and it seems, so do we. So, let’s start protecting bee habitat, so we can all have somewhere nice to enjoy a brew.
