Australian bees are no weak sauce North American bumblebee. In fact, they take a Metallica-inspired approach to pollination, new research has revealed.
Scientists filmed the Australian blue-banded bee banging its head into a flower 350 times a second. According to a statement from Adelaide University, the energetic process releases pollen into the air, pollinating the flower and allowing the insect to spend less time per flower.
Besides the benefit of discovering Aussie bees are huge Cradle of Filth fans, the discovery could help point to better crop pollination techniques. "This new finding suggests that blue-banded bees could also be very efficient pollinators ─ needing fewer bees per hectare," University of Adelaide's Katja Hogendoorn said in the statement. Rage on, little guys.