Study: Bees love cannabis almost as much as we do

A recent study of hemp plantations in the United States showed that bees are attracted to cannabis because of its abundant pollen reserves, This could help scientists to better monitor bee and flower populations.

The study, led by researchers at Cornell University and published last week in Environmental Entomology, revealed that bees are strongly attracted to hemp crops. Its findings concur with a Colorado study published earlier this year who had discovered the same thing, and with the empirical findings of cannabic beekeepers like Nicolas Trainerbees 🙂

The study found that the larger the hemp patch, the greater its chance of attracting bees. Furthermore, taller hemp plants increased the chances of bees visiting the plots, with the tallest plants yielding 17 times more bees than the smallest plants. And as the study progressed, more and more bees visited the hemp plots, indicating that the bees were letting their hives know where the hemp larder was.

As every beekeeper knows, bees do not possess endocannabinoid system and cannabis doesn't produce nectar, the sweet liquid that attracts insects like bees. The researchers nevertheless discovered that 16 subspecies of bees were attracted to hemp crops, and that this was probably due to the pollen produced by the male flowers, without knowing what made hemp pollen so attractive. Bees also appear to be indifferent to female flowers, those of greater interest to humans, as female flowers do not produce pollen.

«The rapid expansion of hemp production in the United States may have important implications for pollination dynamics at the agroecosystem scale,» the study authors concluded. «As a late-season crop that flowers during a period of seasonal floral scarcity, hemp may have particularly strong potential to enhance pollinator populations and subsequent pollination services for the following year's crops by filling gaps in late-season resource scarcity.»

The could hemp save the bees ?