Courtesy: (wvclarke/iNaturalist, CC BY-NC 4.0)
Scientists have shown that bumblebees can learn to recognize a simple version of Morse code made from light flashes. The finding reveals that the insects can distinguish between different durations of visual signals, a skill that helps animals make decisions about foraging, avoiding threats, and navigating their surroundings.
The study, published in Biology Letters, is the first demonstration that Bombus terrestris can choose between options based only on how long a visual cue lasts. This means bumblebees can process timing information in a way similar to vertebrates.
“We wanted to find out if bumblebees could learn the difference between these different durations, and it was so exciting to see them do it,” said behavioral scientist Alex Davidson of Queen Mary University of London.
Researchers built a small foraging arena where bees were shown two flashing lights. One light displayed a long flash and the other a short flash. Some experiments used 5 second pulses versus 1 second flashes, while others used 2.5 second blinks versus 0.5 second ones. One duration signaled a sugary reward and the other signaled quinine, a bitter liquid the bees avoid.
The bees explored the arena until they learned which flash pattern led to the sugar. Once a bee reached a threshold of 15 correct choices out of 20, the researchers removed the reward entirely. This tested whether the insects had truly learned the visual cue rather than following scent or other clues.
Even without sugar present, bees continued to choose the duration that had previously been associated with the reward. Their choices were far above chance, showing that they could distinguish between long and short flashes of light.
This ability surprised researchers because bees do not encounter flashing light signals in nature. Davidson noted that the ability to track the length of a visual signal may reflect a broader time processing skill that evolved for other tasks, such as following motion or coordinating with other bees. It may also be a basic feature of how neurons handle information.
The results add to a growing body of research showing that bee cognition is far more advanced than once believed. Bees have been shown to solve puzzles, learn socially from one another, practice simple forms of farming, and even play with small objects.
The new study reinforces a simple idea. Complex thinking can come from tiny brains, and abilities once thought uniquely human are found throughout the animal kingdom, even in the hum of a bumblebee drifting through a field.