Scientists know that advanced intellectual abilities that were previously attributed only to
In a new study, biologists decidedcheck whether ordinary bumblebees have such abilities. To do this, they observed for several months how they use their senses, including sight, touch and taste, to obtain food.
Researchers released bumblebees into cages at the bottomwhich contained various edible geometric shapes. Moreover, the shape was directly related to the taste of food - according to a logical pattern, sugar had a certain shape, and quinine, unsuitable for food, had another. The bumblebees should have seen this logical connection.
Bumblebees quickly determined the logicalconsistency, even if the shape of the edible figures and the situation in the cell changed. The experiment showed that these pollinators have the beginnings of abstract thinking.
“We have known for a long time that bees can remembershape of flowers. A smartphone can also cope with the task of recognizing objects, for example, a person’s face, but it does this without anyone being conscious. Our experiment suggests that there is something going on in the minds of bumblebees that makes them radically different from machines. In other words, insects can form a mental image of objects and shapes."
Lars Chittka, lead author of the study
Earlier, Swedish scientists from the University of Agricultural Sciences in Lund in their new studycameto the conclusion that popular neonicotinoid pesticides are not uniquely harmful to bumblebees. In some cases, pesticides help the colonies of these insects survive.