New research from NC State University’s Department of Entomology finds that bees in urban areas stick to a flower-nectar diet, steering clear of processed sugars found in soda and other junk food.

“Urban habitats are growing, as is urban beekeeping, and we wanted to see if bee diets in cities are different from those in rural areas,” says Clint Penick, a postdoctoral researcher at NC State and lead author of a paper on the study. “For example, we wanted to know if there are even enough flowers in urban areas to support bee populations, or if bees are turning to human sugar sources, like old soda.”

Read more in the NC State news release.

This post was originally published in College of Agriculture and Life Sciences News.