Bees Shock Scientists with Their Intelligence

When it comes to intelligent creatures, bees are certainly not the first animal to come to mind. However, a recent study might change what you think about bees.

Researchers from the University of Oulu in Finland discovered that bumblebees can use objects around them by giving a few bumblebees some puzzles with a ball. This was done with chimps about 100 years ago with a banana and a few boxes.

Before any puzzles were given, the bumblebees learned a few things. There was a blue dot. This blue dot had sugar on it. This was the reward. However, there were a few obstacles in the way. There was also a polystyrene ball. The bees learned that this ball could roll.

The tests took place in a transparent chamber. The chamber was 1.3 inches tall. This made the space too short to fly, but too tall to reach. The ball was also put inside. First, the ball was on the dot. The bee had to push the ball away. Bees that weren’t taught that the ball could roll didn’t pass this test while the bees that were did. Then, the dot was moved to the top and there were 3 dents on the bottom to hold the ball. One of those dents were right below the dot. The bee had to move the ball in the dent to reach the dot. To make sure that the bee wasn’t just lucky, another test was run. This time, the dot was hidden by a wall. The chamber was filled with red light, making it harder for the bee to see the blue dot. “To complete the task, the bees needed to recall the location of the flower and position the ball beneath it – and 23 out of 30 bees were successful,” the Gaurdian explained.

This study changed the way scientists saw bees. “Most people think insects are reflex-based machines…That they can’t have any emotional states or feel pain. Some people don’t even realise that they have brains. I hope that these results change the worldview about that,” researcher Dr. Olli Loukola said to the Gaurdian.

https://newsforkids.net/articles/2026/06/11/bumblebees-surprise-scientists-by-solving-puzzles/

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jun/04/bees-use-tools-to-solve-problems-study-finds