Bees have mastered Morse code

Bumblebees can tell the difference between “dots” and “dashes” just like Morse code.

In a world first, scientists at Queen Mary University of London have discovered that the common buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) can distinguish between short and long flashes of light and use them to decide where to forage for food; this was a skill previously seen only in humans, macaques and pigeons.

PhD student Alex Davidson and his advisor Dr. The team, led by Elisabetta Versace, trained the bees in a specially designed maze; Here, flashing circles indicated whether a reward (sugar water) or a bitter substance was awaiting.

A short flash or “dot” meant candy, while a long flash or “dash” signaled something unpleasant.

The researchers constantly changed the position of the lights so that the bees could not rely on location alone. When the sugar was removed most bees still flew directly to the “correct” glow time; This proved that they had learned to identify timing cues rather than scent or location.

“We wanted to find out if bumblebees could learn the difference between these different durations, and it was very exciting to see them do this,” Davidson said.

“It is remarkable that they were able to accomplish this task, as bees do not encounter flashing stimuli in their natural environment. Their ability to track the duration of visual stimuli may suggest an extension of the time processing capacity that evolved for different purposes, such as tracking movement or communication in space.”