Honey Bees Can Recognize Simple Numbers

A team of researchers from the Australian National University and Würzburg University have shown that honey bees can distinguish between simple numbers at a glance.

The experiment consisted of a tunnel with various branch points, each branch marked with a collection of dots and only one sequence of dots leading to a reward. To reach the reward, honey bees had to navigate through the choices corresponding to a consistent number of dots. After taking time to initially examine the dots, the honey bees reliably and repeatedly followed the correct sequence in subsequent runs, even when the nondescript dots were replaced with different colors, shapes or patterns.

The bees could easily distinguish and make choices based on one, two and three items, and could even learn to recognize four items with a little practice, but they could not reliably tell the difference among groups of items greater than four. This is a process known as subitizing, or responding rapidly to a small collection of items, and demonstrates at least a basic understanding of numbers.

A great deal of evidence exists for this counting ability among vertebrates such as birds, monkeys or dolphins but this is the first evidence for a similar ability in insects. Such an ability may prove useful for honey bees to recall a path traveled in their search for food, which in some documented cases can take them as much as 11 kilometers away from their hive.

These results were published January 29th in the journal Public Library of Science.

Source: ScienceDaily