Bumblebees Learn New ‘Trends’ in Their Behavior by Observing and Imitating Other Bees

A recent study revealed that bumblebees take up new trends in their behavior by seeing and imitating other bees.

The study also revealed that one type of behavior may spread quickly throughout a colony regardless of whether a different version is identified.

Bumblebees observe and pick up new behavioral patterns

(Photo : Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

This was established through several trials. A two-option puzzle box was created by the researchers, which could be opened by pushing either a red tab counterclockwise or a blue tab clockwise to disclose a reward of a 50% sucrose solution, as per ScienceDaily.

When it came time for the spectators to solve the puzzle, even after learning about the alternate solution, they consistently and overwhelmingly went with the same approach they had seen.

The majority of box openings 98.6% on average were created using the taught approach, demonstrating that entire colonies of bees continued to favor this choice.

The control group, who did not get demonstrations, served as another example of the significance of social learning in the acquisition of puzzle box answers.

Although some bees in this group were successful at opening the puzzle boxes, they did so significantly less times than those that had the advantage of witnessing an earlier success.

The observer bees with a demonstrator opened 28 boxes on average per day, compared to 1 for the control colony, which was the average number of boxes opened in a day.

Similar findings from related studies have been used on monkeys and birds, among other animals, to imply that they, like people, are capable of culture.

If bumblebees can do this as well, this may help to explain how many of the sophisticated behaviors that social insects exhibit evolved.

The Mind of a Bee author Professor Lars Chittka, professor of sensory and behavioral ecology at Queen Mary University of London, stated that the ability of bees to observe, learn, and then develop a behavior into a habit adds to the growing body of evidence that bees are far more intelligent than most people give them credit for.

Yet, their research demonstrates that new inventions can spread across insect colonies like social media memes, demonstrating that they are able to adjust to completely new environmental obstacles far more quickly than evolutionary changes, which would take several generations to materialize.

Also Read: Bees Observed 'Ejaculating' Themselves to Death Due to Severe Heat

What is insect behavior?

The varied activities that an insect takes in response to a stimulus or in reaction to its environment are referred to as insect behaviors, as per Biology Online.

The effects of the pheromones influence some insect behavior. As other members of a single species detect the emitted pheromones, chemicals secreted by insects have an impact on how they behave.

The social behavior of insects

Environmental cues have an impact on some insect behavior as well. Toxins, temperature, and humidity are a few of the typical environmental elements that have an impact on insect behavior, as per The Conversation.

These lessons may be used to guide the design of infrastructure and safeguard it from catastrophic failures by studying the social insect community dynamics and how they're capable of staying resilient despite disturbances.