Bumble bees can teach each other to solve problems - study

Bumblebees can learn to solve a puzzle by watching other bees solve it, according to a new study by Alice Dorothy Bridges and colleagues at Queen Mary University of London, UK.

The big, fuzzy insects have, according to the study published in the peer-reviewed publication PLOS Biology, shown extraordinary demonstrated capabilities for both individual and social learning. This contrasts with the behaviors of other social insects, which have been thought to be innate as opposed to learned.

This study is the first of its kind to look into the spread of behavioral problem-solving in bees. 

“These results in bumblebees, which are tiny-brained invertebrates," said Bridges, "echo those previously found using similar experiments in primates and birds - which were used to demonstrate the capacity of those species for culture.” 

Researchers used the species Bombus terrestris as their model, and created a two-option puzzle box task for the bees to solve, with the goal being to open the box. 

Successful box-opening behavior spread through colonies provided with a demonstrator bee trained to perform one of the two possible variant behaviors which could open the box. Specifically, the bumble bees picked up the behavior that their demonstrator had showed them. Even once the second viable option was discovered, the bees showed a preference for the method they had been taught. 

In control groups where there was no demonstrator bee, some bumble bees spontaneously opened the puzzle boxes but were found to be less effective overall than those who were taught. 

"This suggested that social learning was crucial to proper acquisition of box opening," researchers wrote. 

Bumble bees cannot problem-solve their way out of climate change

The effects of climate change could be devastating for bumblebees, as altered seasonal weather changes could cause the bees to wake up from hibernation early, a September 2022 study found.

The findings of this study were published in the peer-reviewed academic journal Biological Conservation and present some stinging news regarding the damage climate change can wreck on bumblebees and, by extension, global agriculture.