Insects join list of species capable of solving simple ‘box-and-banana’ problem that demonstrates basic intelligence

Bumblebees can use tools to solve a problem, according to experiments that demonstrate their remarkably advanced cognitive abilities.

The bees were given an adapted version of an experiment that, 100 years ago, first demonstrated chimpanzees could work out how to retrieve an out-of-reach banana by stacking boxes. Since then, various other primates, elephants and crows have joined an elite cohort of species known to be capable of this level of insight and spontaneous problem solving.

In the latest research, bees were shown to be able to roll a polystyrene ball to a specific location and climb on to it in order to access an artificial flower on a low ceiling. The findings challenge the longstanding assumption that insects operate purely on instinct and mindless trial-and-error learning.

“Most people think insects are reflex-based machines,” said Dr Olli Loukola, a behavioural ecologist at the University of Oulu, Finland, and senior author. “That they can’t have any emotional states or feel pain. Some people don’t even realise that they have brains. I hope that these results change the worldview about that.”

  • SorryImLate@piefed.socialEnglish
    3·
    2 days ago

    It’s illegal to take your dog into the grocery store in Switzerland and with good reason.

    That said, my dog goes most places with me. She can be home alone for a couple of hours but we live in an apartment (so no garden) and only have the one dog. They’re pack animals and I think it’s really cruel to leave a single dog alone for hours every day. When I was growing up we had a garden and always had at least 2 dogs, so the dogs weren’t left entirely alone if you left them at home.