Have the boffins devised a method of teaching the bees the offside rule yet?
Bee boffins prove sesame-seed brain is all you need to play football (well, that explains a lot)
The humble bumblebee can be taught how to play soccer, even though its brain is only around the size of a sesame seed. Previous studies into apoid behavior have revealed a surprisingly complex world. The fuzzy creatures can find their way home despite flying miles away to collect nectar; memorize and recognize objects; and …
COMMENTS
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Monday 27th February 2017 07:02 GMT Voland's right hand
Did the bees learn to fake injuries too
There is a lot left for the bees to learn:
Earn 10 liters of sugar syrup a day just by sitting on the bench, lay on your back clutching a leg pretending another bee hit you, kick other bees in the shins while the scientists are not watching, get paid 100 more liters of syrup for moving from one bench to another...
Otherwise, as far as the brain size is concerned that is spot on.
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Monday 27th February 2017 11:10 GMT Anonymous Coward
... and as a regular spectator at league one level I'd say the bees would be over-qualified as referees as it appears they not only don't move around aimlessly but they also have the ability to make reasoned decisions (though from observation it would appear that many of the L1 ref's have been indulging in the sugary treats!)
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Monday 27th February 2017 09:29 GMT FelixReg
Generalization or missing the point
The paper seems to be behind a pay-wall, so it's not clear whether the evidence of generalization (e.g. the bees pushing a closer, differently colored ball than what they've seen pushed) is truly generalization or whether it's that the bees just don't notice the "closeness" or "color" of the ball.
Put another way, how do you distinguish cluelessness from deep thought?
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Monday 27th February 2017 18:28 GMT Swarthy
Re: Generalization or missing the point
Well, given that bees have rather good color vision (except for the color red) and this has been extensively documented, I think it is safe to say that the boffins controlled for color vision in this experiment.
Also given that bees can direct other bees to a specific flower at a surprising distance, I would say that "closeness" is not a parameter that bees disregard.
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