Bees As Mathematicians

 

The other day, I discovered a series of articles where they state that bees are mathematicians.  Interesting thought so I read several to see why they made the connection.  Honeybees make these beautiful combs where each cell is hexagonal shaped.  Think of it! A creature who can make something that is hexagonal without a ruler, compass, or written plan!

In fact, mathematicians have been making conjectures and hypotheses about honeybee’s ability since 36 BC.  The first known conjecture from 36 BC was the honeybee conjecture in which it was speculated that hexagonal shapes are the most efficient way to fill an area. This wasn’t proven until the 1990’s. 

People claim bees are mathematicians for several reasons. First they can construct hexagonal shaped cells for their honey and hive without the use of instruments.  Next, they seem to understand why the hexagon is the best shape for the cells.  They also appear to have a grasp of the concept of zero.  Finally, they can solve simple problems and even other types of problems such as the “Traveling Salesman” one.

In addition, at the age of two weeks, bees are capable of changing sugar into a waxy substance used to build the hexagonal cells which have a more economical shape because they use the least amount of wax to construct.  This shape has the least amount of surface area while providing the maximum amount of space. Furthermore, there is no wasted space between cells like one would have if they used circles instead.

Simple experiments have been carried out to test how well honeybees can perform simple math.  In one, honey bees were asked to fly through  a maze which contained a variety of shapes either in blue or yellow.  When the bee came to a color they had to make a decision of which way to go.  If they made all the right choices, they were rewarded with a treat of sugar water.  It took 100 bees between 4 and 7 hours to figure out the maze and associate their decisions with simple math tasks.

They are able to communicate geographical information using a specific type of dance.  There are indications that bees can also remember human faces.  Scientists would like to figure out how bees are able to perform complex tasks with a limited number of neurons in order to apply the information to machine learning.  The answer to this questions, will help AI learning improve by leaps and bounds.

I find it fascinating to learn how well bee’s do math.  Let me know what you think, I’d love to hear.  Have a great day.