Researchers say that police detectives may be able to learn a thing or two from the bumblebee. It turns out that the way bumblebees forage for food may be similar to the way serial killers target their victims. 

One would assume that the bees look for pollen in the areas closest to the hive. However, this is known to be incorrect. Bumblebees leave an area around the hive untouched - researchers call this area the "buffer zone." The bees do this so that they do not reveal the location of the hive to predators.

It was with this behavior that researchers first noted the similarity to the mind of a serial killer. As Dr. Nigel Raine explains, "Most murders happen close to the killer's home, but not in the area
directly surrounding a criminal's house, where crimes are less likely
to be committed because of the fear of getting caught by someone they
know."

With this foundation, they are looking for more ways in which the habits of a bumblebee may resemble the mind of a killer. With this in mind, researched have placed tiny radio frequency tags on the backs of bumblebees to track their movements. The people behind the project point out that, besides the slightly far-fetched goal of solving crimes, their research is also very important to understanding pollination, as it is responsible for a large percentage of the food that we eat. 

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