Bumblebees & smelly feet

Bumblebees mark the flowers they've visited with smelly footprints.

Bumblebees mark the flowers they've visited with smelly footprints, and they can tell the difference between odors from family members' feet and those of strangers. By sniffing out these dainty footprints, bumblebees can locate good food and steer clear of flowers whose nutrients have been depleted, the scientists reported in a new study.

Bumblebees secrete a substance whenever they touch their feet to a surface, much like us leaving fingerprints on whatever we touch.