The Bees Who Make Perfume

Apropos of nothing, I wanted you to know something lovely - right now, out in the world, there are bees making perfume.

I just did a night class with the British Society of Perfumers (open to all if you're interested) on scent as communication across species, particularly the Orchid Bee. The male Orchid Bee goes out and finds scents he likes (from fragrant plants, mosses, fungi & often orchids, hence the name), which he collects on a specially designed part of his legs and brings back to his little home (they're a solitary bee). He then mixes the scent oils into a perfume; the more complex, the better, and when he's happy with it, fans it out into the world in the hope of finding a mate - the best perfume wins! Here's some pics of the bees by visual researcher Jake Eshelman, who also attempted to recreate an Orchid Bee perfume.

Emx