bumble bees can 'play' like animals, new study shows

can bumble bees play? UK researchers say they can

In a first-ever study conducted by researchers at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), bumble bees were caught interacting with rolling balls despite having no incentive to do so — proving that insects can engage in play behavior like dogs or cats.

First launched in 2017, the purpose of the study was to train the buzzing creatures to roll a ball for a sugary treat. However, after several iterations, a researcher came to the following conclusion: ‘Our study puts the final nail in the coffin of the idea that small brains constrain insects to have limited behavioral flexibility and only simple learning abilities.’ QMUL reconsidered this statement earlier this year when bees began defying evolutionary tactics.

image courtesy of QMUL via ScienceDirect

rolling balls as a rewarding act, without incentive

Publishing their latest findings in the ‘Animal Behaviour’ journal, QMUL reseachers write: ‘Here, we show that rolling of wooden balls by bumble bees, Bombus terrestris, fulfils behavioral criteria for animal play and is akin to play in other animals. We found that ball rolling (1) did not contribute to immediate survival strategies, (2) was intrinsically rewarding, (3) differed from functional behaviour in form, (4) was repeated but not stereotyped, and (5) was initiated under stress-free conditions. Through the design of the experiment and with the support of behavioural observations, we excluded the possibilities that ball rolling was driven by exploration for food, clutter clearing or mating.’

image via Phys.Org

QMUL devised a series of experiments to get these results, each nudging the bumble bees to gravitate towards playing or feeding. For example, in one experiment, instead of heading to a chamber with sugary treats, a group of them started interacting with wooden balls up to 117 times, proving that ‘ball rolling is itself a rewarding activity‘. During their observations, researchers also noticed how younger bees rolled more balls than older ones, and male bees rolled them for longer than females.

A second experiment invited the buzzing creatures to access one of two colored chambers, one of them containing the rolling balls. At some point, the objects were taken out, and even though the bees were left with two empty chambers, they still ‘showed a preference for the color of the chamber where they had rolled balls.’

Because play has no functional value (get food and shelter or mate), these latest results demonstrate unprecedented behavior: insects can escape their evolutionary hardwiring and engage in groundbreaking, affective states.