Bumblebees' Tongue Movements Hint at Emotional States, Study Finds

Research released on July 6 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences indicates that bumblebees might feel pleasure or aversion while tasting food. Scientists from Macquarie University in Australia and Southern Medical University in Guangzhou, China, studied buff-tailed bumblebees across 18 colonies as they sampled different liquids. Observations captured in slow motion revealed that bees extended their tongues for sweet liquids but shook their heads and retreated from bitter and salty ones. Dehydrated bees showed tongue movements akin to those for sugar when exposed to salty water, suggesting behavior is influenced by necessity. Co-authors Fei Peng and Andrew Barron highlighted that these results imply bees possess an inner life, contributing to the understanding of bee cognition, which includes tool use and grasping the concept of zero.