Breaking news! Playing isn’t just for vertebrates!
In a recent study at Queen Mary University of London, researchers Hiruni Samadi Galpayage Dona, Cwyn Solvi, Amelia Kowalewska, Kaarle Mäkelä, HaDi MaBouDi, and Lars Chittka discovered that bumblebees are very far from emotionless, unfeeling worker drones. In fact, the bees have been observed playing with balls and exhibiting positive feelings when playing.
What was the study?
Researchers constructed a small, enclosed area with two options for the bumblebees. They could either get a treat by walking through an empty path, ignore the treat for a time and play with the surrounding wooden balls outside of the path.
Although there was no obvious incentive to rolling the balls, the bees rolled the balls around 1-117 times during the experiment.
In another experiment, the path the same as before but was colored two distinct colors. The initial activity was similar to the first run of the experiment. However, after removing the balls, the bees still showed an interest in the color that was associated with the wooden balls.
This is a crucial discovery, as it shows that the bees are interested in the balls for no other reason but to play with them!
Bumblebees and Their Playfulness
During the researchers’ experiments, they discovered many interesting things about the which bees were playing and why. They found out that, much like human children and other baby animals, younger bees were more likely to play with the balls than older bees. Also, adult male bees played for longer than their adult female counterparts.
Why do they do this? What do they get out of rolling the balls? The researchers claim that bees have no need to roll the balls for anything other than enjoyment. This means that the bees are genuinely playing just to have fun! They come back to the balls repeatedly to continue their play, even with real incentive from doing so. This is groundbreaking in the understanding of insect minds and how insects may feel a lot more than we give them credit for.
Conclusion
This study has allowed us to see that other living beings on Earth experience positive emotions and feel much more than we may think they do. I hope that this is the kick-starter for much more research into the brains/thought processes of other living beings. I am sure after hearing all of this, you want to see the incredible cuteness of bees playing.
If you would like to read more about this discovery, below is a link to the full study:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003347222002366?via%3Dihub
(All credits go to the researchers and Queen Mary University of London)
