A new study shows that as air pollution increases, the ability of bees to find food diminishes. The particles interfere with the apian olfactory system, say scientists at Penn State.

Airborne contaminants confuse bees and react with the fragrance molecules put out by flowers, affecting the lifespans of these vital volatile compounds as well as their ability to travel.

— Read more at Air pollution impedes bees' ability to find food at UPI, or see Bees' ability to forage decreases as air pollution increases at Penn State.

The bees from the genus Euglossa formulate their unique perfumes for reasons similar to ours: to attract mates, establish a signature identity, and smell good in a crowd. They do this by gathering a variety of carefully selected scents from their environment, and then douse their bodies with the perfume.

“The males expose them at the places where mating occurs,” said co-author Thomas Eltz of Ruhr-University Bochum, “so the perfumes may be chemical signals to females.”

— Read more at Orchid Bees Blend Their Own Perfume at Discovery.

One of the odder things about perfumes is how much they have depended over the centuries on the scent of other animals — for instance, ambergris, a fatty excretion of the sperm whale, or the musk from the anal sacs of a civet. In concentration, some of these scents are unpleasant, even noxious.

 — From Fine Perfumes of the Animal World at the New York Times Opinionator blog. Hat tip to Oakland Fresca!

Perfume or cologne can make it harder to tell friend from foe — at least if you happen to be an ant. Researchers at the University of Melbourne found that a strong background odour, in the form of Tabu spray cologne, can hinder ants in identifying each other.

— Of course, sometimes Tabu confuses humans too. Read more at Ant communication confused by perfume at ABC Science.