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Scientists now know that bees can process time, a first in insects

cnn.com

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Re: Scientists now know that bees can process time, a first in insects

#61

Post by ACCount37 »

fullstop wrote: post #25

When I think of insects, I see them as tiny microcontrollers. In my head bees have a little shift register to measure time. While ants have control over each limb, they mostly move by rotating two tripods one at a time. It's like they turn on an output for three legs, turn off the output, and then turn on the output for the other three legs. Ants can walk backward, though, so perhaps it is more like a half-bridge rec…

Working in embedded gave me a lot of respect for insects. They can fit so much raw function into a body that's smaller than most standalone ICs.

Just imagine how cool would it be to have programmable bees.

Re: Scientists now know that bees can process time, a first in insects

#62

Post by cuckmaxxed »

Dr. Mark Powell: How do you know right from wrong?

Prot: Every being in the universe knows right from wrong, Mark.

Dr. Mark Powell: Suppose someone did do something wrong? Committed murder or rape, how would you punish them?

Prot: Let me tell you something, Mark. You humans, most of you, subscribe to this policy of eye for an eye, a life for a life. This is known through the universe for its stupidity. Even your Buddha and your Christ had quite a different vision but nobody's paid much attention to them not even the Buddhists or the Christians. You humans. Sometimes it's hard to imagine how you have made it this far.

Re: Scientists now know that bees can process time, a first in insects

#63

Post by pyth0 »

sethammons wrote: post #38
dartharva wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I remember reading somewhere that bees have the highest cognitive abilities of all insects

Thinking of smart bugs, check out the portia (aka jumping) spider. They plan multi-step, out of sight detours to ambush prey, and demonstrate impulse control. They have specialized hunting techniques for different menu items, one such is mimicking specific prey items stuck on a web to lure various types of spiders out. Insect wise, bees have to take the cake. Symbolic communication and counting, and now time. This al…

Interesting you mention jumping spiders, I just saw a rather interesting video talking about exactly this and includes some interviews with scientists involved in some of these experiments [1]. One interesting fact I learned is that they have a sense of numeracy, and can distinguish between one, two and three-or-more objects.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QF6kaOAuYg

Re: Scientists now know that bees can process time, a first in insects

#64

Post by mikkupikku »

fullstop wrote: post #25

When I think of insects, I see them as tiny microcontrollers. In my head bees have a little shift register to measure time. While ants have control over each limb, they mostly move by rotating two tripods one at a time. It's like they turn on an output for three legs, turn off the output, and then turn on the output for the other three legs. Ants can walk backward, though, so perhaps it is more like a half-bridge rec…

I don't know much about insects, but spiders at least seem to be much more than mere automatons. The way jumping spiders are aware of their environment makes them feel much closer to a dog than to a microcontroller.

Re: Scientists now know that bees can process time, a first in insects

#66

Post by johnisgood »

SoftTalker wrote: post #55
johnisgood wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I love bees and ants, but I love bees the most. I would recommend people to study the behavior of bees and ants. Additionally, honey, propolis, etc. are super healthy, and we can thank bees for that.

Yellowjackets can go to hell though.

Well, kind of. :D Wasps do not produce honey, they just collect nectar and sugary substances for immediate consumption, and propolis is specifically a bee product made from tree resins.

That said, wasps are still quite intelligent for insects with regarding to spatial memory, individual recognition, learning, problem-solving, and social cognition. In fact, their intelligence is comparable to honeybees in many respects.

Contrary to popular belief, wasps are not mindless aggressors, their defensive behavior is calculated based on threat assessment. :)

Re: Scientists now know that bees can process time, a first in insects

#67

Post by johnisgood »

fullstop wrote: post #24
johnisgood wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My love for bees is more about their behavior (similar to how I find ants fascinating), and their "products" that is honey, propolis, beeswax, and so on. I am simply fascinated by their behaviors, and propolis is very healthy!

I have always been enamored with "social" insects like bees, wasps, and ants. I _loved_ SimAnt as a child. It also blows my mind that I utterly balk at eating insects but bee vomit is totally cool.

Oh my, I just looked for a screenshot of SimAnt. I remember this game, too! I have played it for some time, too. :)

Re: Scientists now know that bees can process time, a first in insects

#68

Post by aunty_helen »

Loughla wrote: post #10
sitkack wrote: post #4

We are learning so many wonderful things about Bees! They can count https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21222227 Bees play https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33369572 https://www.science.org/content/article/are-these-bumble-bee... All of this reinforces my belief that nearly everything is conscious and aware, we differ in a capabilities and resolution but we are all more similar than we are different. Spider Cogni…

Growing up on a farm taught me that animals are absolutely able to think and learn. Not in the same way as humans, but I'm fully convinced there are degrees of consciousness. Watching new calves play in spring meadows is one of the most purely joyful things you can ever see. They have best friends and will avoid playing with other calves until their friend comes to play with them.

Or that cows can quickly determine when an electric fence isn’t working and rampage a winter feed paddock in an hour.

Re: Scientists now know that bees can process time, a first in insects

#69

Post by angiolillo »

MangoToupe wrote: post #28
testfrequency wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I promise this isn’t a trap, it’s just my curiosity as a “flexitarian”. What (mostly) keeps me from eating animals is my mind wandering sometimes when making a protein choice about how they ended up there, wherever I am, not by choice. Are you vegan?

Goats are just as tasty if you raised them, IMO. Maybe even tastier.

By "tastier" do you mean more physically pleasurable because you could ensure the animal's good health, ethically preferable because you could ensure a (mostly) good life, emotionally enjoyable because you can fondly remember interacting with them, or something else?

Re: Scientists now know that bees can process time, a first in insects

#70

Post by travisgriggs »

kznewman wrote: post #26
Loughla wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Growing up on a farm taught me that animals are absolutely able to think and learn. Not in the same way as humans, but I'm fully convinced there are degrees of consciousness. Watching new calves play in spring meadows is one of the most purely joyful things you can ever see. They have best friends and will avoid playing with other calves until their friend comes to play with them.

Thanks for this memory. I had similar experience watching spring lambs and swore off mutton/lamb/etc same day.

I swore off lamb after trying to make a couple lamb stews. It is clearly an acquired taste if that.
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