Bees are one of the hardest-working creatures on this planet. They go to massive lengths, compared to their tiny bodies, to create a substantial amount of honey. But that’s not all! Did you know these impressive insects can even recognize faces, do simple math, and even use tools?
In 2021, a viral Twitter video took the internet by storm. It showed two bees slowly unscrewing a Fanta bottle cap as the insects attempted to get to the sweet juice inside. However, viewers were a bit doubtful of the bees’ ingenious ability as it may have been CGI.[1]
Did The Bees Really Unite?
We never did get any conclusive proof as to whether it really happened. However, it’s much more enjoyable to believe it did and actually figure out if the bees’ brains are capable of doing such a task.
As for the original clip, ViralHog, the licensor of the video, claims the clip originated in Brazil’s Sao Paulo, and the cameraman was a worker enjoying his lunch break. In the caption, the person had written, “I got a soda from a customer but soon the bees stole it.” Needless to say, the netizens were baffled as to how such tiny insects can have such big brains:
However, science says, it is not that improbable. To begin with, smaller animals have a tinier body to control, thus a smaller brain will do fine. Moreover, cognitive performance may be more dependent on how complex the connections between the neurons are, rather than the size of the brain.
In 1962, Karl von Frisch claimed that bumblebees did not have a large enough brain to think. As such, everything they did, he accounted to their instinct. A decade later his work on communication between bees would win him the Nobel Prize. However, the true power of the brain of a bee has remained in question and tested since then.
Read: People Are Making ‘Bee Waterers’ To Safely Hydrate Bees Without Risk Of Them Drowning
The ‘Big’ Brain Of A Tiny Insect?
A bee’s brain is similar to a grass seed in size. Compared to ours, that is 0.0002% the size. However, recent research has shown that insects can get wiser by watching their fellow bees. Moreover, they can carry out simple mathematical equations since they count to zero. Amazing, right?
But doing simple addition and turning a screw-on cap are completely different problems. So, how could the insects manage that? If von Frisch’s words are anything to go by, the insects fail when they face any unfamiliar tasks. Surely, unscrewing a bottle cap is not a task the evolution of bees ever accounted for?
Of course, the bees may have been simply lucky in this case. They detected something sweet, and whatever they tried seemed to work, and the cap was screwed on quite lightly. At the same time, this may be yet another one of nature’s surprises. For example, a packed brain of a bee can be connected with as many as 100,000 different cells!
In 2017, a study trained bumblebees to successfully roll a circular ball into a marked-out goal. It was not that easy, as to successfully score, the bees had to copy the movements of others, and learn from past mistakes. They did not face much difficulty in doing them, though.[2]
The 2017 study concluded that such usage of a tool, was at first, ascribed only to humans. Then primates, marine mammals, and even birds showed the ability. With the addition of bees, we can only imagine how many species truly have this ability to use a tool to attain a result. As such, bees may have the power to do more than we can ever imagine, regardless of their size.
Keep Reading: Here Is How To Make A Natural Repellent For Wasps And Bees
Sources:
- “‘Unbelievable’ Video Shows 2 Bees Working Together to Open a Soda Bottle.” Science Alert. Carly Caessla. October 4, 2022.
- “Bumblebees show cognitive flexibility by improving on an observed complex behavior.” Science Mag. OLLI J. LOUKOLA , et al. February 24, 2017.
