Sweet deceit

• Autores: Stephanie Pain
• Localización: New scientist, ISSN 0262-4079, Nº. 3018, 2015, págs. 42-45
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • In 401 BC, 10,000 Greek mercenaries were marching home from war against the king of Persia. Passing through Colchis, on the eastern side of the Black Sea, they feasted on honey stolen from beehives dotted around the countryside. Soon thousands had fallen into a stupor. The historian and soldier Xenophon describes them acting like intoxicated madmen, as if under a spell. As strangers to the region, they knew nothing of the effects of the "mad honey" made bylocal bees. The men recovered within a few days but others were not so lucky. Here, Pain discusses why some flowers lace their nectar with toxins and risk poisoning their pollinators.