Bumblebees maybe smarter than you think

[gwand 136]

This observation surprised me.

https://phys.org/news/2026-06-bumble-bees-spontaneous-problem-big.html

 

[GaryE 135]

I think the study of non human intelligence is the most exciting thing happening now. It seemed inconceivable when I was a kid - people didn't even recognize that we were animals ourselves. And now, because we have the sense to look, we're seeing what can be called intelligent behaviour in a whole lot of life forms.

It makes sense. The kind of intelligence we have can't have developed overnight. It has to have been a process, and it seems to have begun earlier than many like to think. What is going on with life under a forest floor? Who can deny that experiments with Gambusia livebearers and these ones with bees kick over our conceits? It's very cool.

I wish I could live another hundred years to see what will be learned. The information is coming in fast.

 

[jaylach 136]

Animal intelligence studies have grown a lot. Years ago there was the phrase "bird brained" equating to dumb. Now we know that many bird species have a level of primitive intelligence on a par with dogs and cats.

I don't agree with the 'big brain' theory relating to intelligence. For instance a sperm whale has a brain mass of around 6.6 times the mass of a human brain. Are they more intelligent than humans? Not likely but they, at least, don't destroy their environment so, mayhaps, in ways, they are.

One issue I have with the 'big brain' concept is that we use only a rather small percentage of our own brains although the 10% myth is garbage as most of our brain is normally active. This myth likely started by the fact that, on average, only 10% of the human brain is neurons. Just for grins say that a bird has a brain that is composed of 80% neurons. Could not this difference drastically increase the bird's level of intelligence in relation to humans? Don't yell. I'm not saying that a crow is more intelligent than a human. I'm just saying that the level of intelligence of many critters are probably much higher than most think.

 

[gwand 136]

Animal intelligence studies have grown a lot. Years ago there was the phrase "bird brained" equating to dumb. Now we know that many bird species have a level of primitive intelligence on a par with dogs and cats.

I don't agree with the 'big brain' theory relating to intelligence. For instance a sperm whale has a brain mass of around 6.6 times the mass of a human brain. Are they more intelligent than humans? Not likely but they, at least, don't destroy their environment so, mayhaps, in ways, they are.

One issue I have with the 'big brain' concept is that we use only a rather small percentage of our own brains although the 10% myth is garbage as most of our brain is normally active. This myth likely started by the fact that, on average, only 10% of the human brain is neurons. Just for grins say that a bird has a brain that is composed of 80% neurons. Could not this difference drastically increase the bird's level of intelligence in relation to humans? Don't yell. I'm not saying that a crow is more intelligent than a human. I'm just saying that the level of intelligence of many critters are probably much higher than most think.

The smarter species of bird have a higher density of neurons compared to the human brain. So the bird’s brain is smaller than our but has more neurons per cubic millimeter.

 

[BlaiseinLondon]

I think the study of non human intelligence is the most exciting thing happening now. It seemed inconceivable when I was a kid - people didn't even recognize that we were animals ourselves. And now, because we have the sense to look, we're seeing what can be called intelligent behaviour in a whole lot of life forms.

It makes sense. The kind of intelligence we have can't have developed overnight. It has to have been a process, and it seems to have begun earlier than many like to think. What is going on with life under a forest floor? Who can deny that experiments with Gambusia livebearers and these ones with bees kick over our conceits? It's very cool.

I wish I could live another hundred years to see what will be learned. The information is coming in fast.

When you get to heaven you'll learn all the answers at once! Won't that be amazing?

 

[BlaiseinLondon]

I know this will sound daft to some, but I always speak to creatures that I encounter in the wild. I love those moments where, out walking, I'll find myself next to a blackbird or some such and, for a short while, the bird remains motionless, just where it is. I speak softly to it and it generally appears to be taking it all in.... Who knows?

 

[GaryE 135]

When you get to heaven you'll learn all the answers at once! Won't that be amazing?

We'll never know the answers. And if we did, it would be horribly boring. What would be the use of being able to think? That's a definition of a hell to me - one which I'll luckily never encounter.

Here's to discussions, questions and life as we're living it. And to bumblebees - they're busy figuring things out.

 

[Back in the fold 9]

Saw this thread title and was hoping the topic would be Brachygobius xanthozonus . Did I spell that right ?