Honey bee larvae have a reduced sense of smell due to intensive care from nurse bees

Honey bee larvae have a significantly reduced sense of smell compared to adults. This temporary loss of olfactory function is linked to the intensive care they receive from nurse bees. The study found lower expression of key olfactory genes in larvae, impairing their ability to detect food or respond to chemical cues. This contrasts with adult bees, which rely heavily on smell for foraging and colony tasks. This temporary loss of smell is a unique example of social evolution, where an unneeded trait is regulated rather than lost entirely, as seen in other species with regressive evolution.