A bumble bee ponders in Kenya. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler.
Research over the last few years has overturned the idea that insects are instinctual automatons. Instead researchers are uncovering just how intelligent insects are, especially social ones such as this bee. Not convinced? It turns how bees can count, wasps remember faces, and some bumblebees even communicate through a complex ‘waggle dance’ that uses symbolic language to tell their compatriots where to find nectar.
In a recent interview with Dr. Lars Chittka, mongabay.com found out about the many exciting discoveries of insect intelligence: the bumblebee in your backyard will never look the same again.
To read the interview: Uncovering the intelligence of insects, an interview with Lars Chittka .