Bumblebees can teach each other how to open a puzzle box
7 March 2023
When researchers taught a bumblebee to push a lever for a reward, the knowledge spread through its colony, hinting that these insects have a kind of minimal culture
-
Subject
-
Section
-
Type
-
Topics
-
Author
-
Issue
-
Premium
Honeybee swarms act like superorganisms to stay together in high winds
17 September 2018
A honeybee swarm behaves like a superorganism by changing shape in response to physical stress – although doing so means individuals take on a greater burden
Wasps drum with their stomachs to tell each other about food
6 April 2018
German yellowjacket wasps alert each other to food by drumming their abdomens against the nest wall, in a wasp equivalent of the famous honeybee “waggle dance”
Ants care for wounded comrades by licking their wounds clean
14 February 2018
If a Matabele ant loses a limb in a battle with termites, its nestmates will tend its injuries - a behaviour never before seen in any non-human animal
How besieged ants decide when it’s time to abandon their nests
5 January 2018
Colonies of turtle ants are often attacked by competing species, and the ants understand enough military strategy to decide when certain nests should be abandoned
