PhD student Alex Davidson and his supervisor, Dr. Elisabetta Versace, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Queen Mary University of London, led the research team that discovered that bumble bees understand what simple long and short flashes of light represent. Previously researchers thought that this ability was limited to vertebrates.

Each bee was taught that a short flash led to a sugar treat and the long flash represented a bitter substance which bees to not prefer. To make sure that the bees were reacting to the flashes instead of location the researchers changed the location of the flashes in the maze. The researchers also proofed against other factors. Most of the bees went to the light associated with sugar which proved that the bees did recognize the difference between long and short flashes of light.

Sue’s Note: In a previous blog post I reported on another study at Queen Mary University that showed bees can count. (Queen Mary University of London. “Bees can count with small number of nerve cells in their brains, research suggests.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 21 December 2018. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181221123718.htm)

As we learn about all animals and insects and their intelligence, it helps us understand our pets and realize that they have more capabilities than we typically give them credit for. This should influence how we train them and take care of them. It makes the cruelty that people inflict on them ever more horrendous.

Alexander Davidson, Ishani Nanda, Anita Ong, Lars Chittka, Elisabetta Versace. Duration discrimination in the bumblebee Bombus terrestris. Biology Letters, 2025; 21 (11) DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2025.0440

Queen Mary University of London. “Scientists shocked as bumblebees learn to read simple “Morse code”.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 12 November 2025. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/11/251112011803.htm>.