Honey bees do great at math: they're the only animals that can tell odd from even elements, new study reveals
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves himIn addition to being fundamental for biodiversity and very creative, the api they are surprisingly intelligent creatures. With us humans they share a mathematical ability, which has not been confirmed in any other species so far: honey bees are able to distinguish even numbers from odd ones. A skill that amazed the scientists themselves, who conducted a study published a few days ago in the scientific journal Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution.
This ability - known as categorization or classification of parity - is considered by scholars to be an abstract and high-level cognitive concept concerning man. But recent research has debunked this thesis, revealing that bees are far better at math than previously thought.
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The results of the experiment
The discovery was made thanks to an experiment carried out by researchers from several Australian universities and research centers. The team of scholars divided dozens of honeybees recruited from 25 hives into two groups. The first group of insects was trained to associate even numbers with sugar water and odd numbers with a bitter-tasting liquid made from quinine (a natural alkaloid originally made from the bark of a plant). The scientists noted that the bees were able to distinguish even from odd elements with an accuracy of about 70%.
Furthermore, observation showed that these insects tend to learn to categorize odd numbers more easily, unlike humans who classify even numbers more quickly.
This study therefore demonstrates that a skill, previously only shown in humans, is accessible to a brain with a relatively small number of neurons. - Experts explain - We discuss the possible mechanisms or learning processes that allow bees to perform this categorization task, ranging from numerical explanations, such as counting, to matching elements and memorization of stimuli or patterns.
In light of what has been discovered, the scientists intend to continue their studies to understand which other animal species have this mathematical ability.
"The findings should encourage further testing of parity processing in a wider variety of animals to inform about its potential biological roots, evolutionary factors and potential technological breakthroughs for concept processing," the Australian scholars conclude.
What to say? Our precious bees are truly exceptional for more than one reason!
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Fonte: Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
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