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OldGreyTroll t1_iu75x98 wrote

That, or bees cosplay as Dung Beetles….

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DeidreNightshade t1_iu76nrs wrote

I love that they managed to somehow get tiny little number stickers on them. That's frikkin adorable.

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TherronKeen t1_iu77boe wrote

ok, I didn't read the study, but is there any part of the study that determined that they don't just have some behaviour causing them to try climbing up these spheres, and the "fun rolling" bit is just the result of them being unable to climb up a loose object that freely rolls around?

EDIT: ok, I read the study (or at least skimmed it and read the parts related to relevant data for my hypothesis) - the experiment used 45 bees, which I would consider an overwhelmingly poor sample size, but then again I don't have a degree in bumblebeeology or anything for that matter. Trillions of bees, they tested 45. 'kay.

The "big reveal" was that the bees, after the first time they rolled a ball, were later more likely to choose to walk through a room that matched the color of the ball they rolled.

The increase in choosing a matching colored room was still well within one standard deviation (assuming I remembered how to read those fucking charts from 22 years ago), so it could've been purely coincidental with almost the same likelihood.

Also, I would've personally made the assertion that they encountered a moving object of a color, then chose a room of a similar color, because just maybe a bee whose job it is to collect pollen from flowers just might have seen some free-moving objects, searched for pollen on them, and tried searching a similar environment to the moving, potentially flower-like-objects they had recently discovered.

But no, I guess bumble bees are the new fuckin golden retrievers.

Again, I don't have any letters after my name, so take my opinion on Reddit for what it's worth - basically a hot piss in the wind - but c'mon, the clickbait titles on science articles are fuckin nauseating.

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100LittleButterflies t1_iu7d338 wrote

...... How was this discovered?

"Hey, I know we're supposed to be studying honey bee pollination techniques, but LOOK AT THIS!"

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No_Banana_581 t1_iu7fsyz wrote

All animals love to roll balls and play w them. It’s so cute when you see a bear or squirrel or fox or deer video showing how much fun they have playing

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mrgumble t1_iu8cmvi wrote

Replying to MakashiBlade (#307,587)

Not impossible. Some of the best science appears due to accidents.

Mandatory mention of Penicillin: discovered when the researcher forgot to close a window, and mold spores landed on Petri dishes, and bacteria subsequent didn't grow close to the mold.

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Frag2k4 t1_iu8k5js wrote

Male bees like playing with balls more than female bees, gotcha. gif

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C130_jumper t1_iu8op3c wrote

Number 53 better be named Herbie. Beeing a Love Bug n'all.

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Qwearman t1_iu8rx8w wrote

Replying to 100LittleButterflies (#304,393)

There was one time where they were studying if you could train bees to do things. Bee Soccer was the thing I first thought of when I saw this.

The cool thing is that if they’re playing, that means they’re not mindless drones going about their day. I always figured insects in particular were just doing what their nature told them to do, like how butterflies have a “genetic memory” so strong that migratory butterflies go around a mountain that doesn’t exist anymore (due to mining/construction)

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smoothoperatorct t1_iu8sbka wrote

I ain’t never seen bumblebees that big. Cornfed fellers right there I tell you what.

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wiggle987 t1_iu8vwqu wrote

I want to visit the bee enrichment center

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Beverly_1953 t1_iu97hjs wrote

We had a bumblebee that played fetch with us. We could throw small rock and it would chase it then come back to spot so we could throw another one.

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MrmmphMrmmph t1_iu9d9lk wrote

We are all just one perfectly sized ball away from being a dung beetle.

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silvh t1_iu9j6zp wrote

Inb4 bee football

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M0ndmann t1_iu9l2t3 wrote

How do they know it's for fun? And not for a yet unknown reason?

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daretoredd t1_iu9uvdk wrote

His mamma was a dung beetle!

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