British scientists from Queen Mary University of London have proven that bumblebees can learn complex skills from their relatives that insects cannot master on their own. The study was published in the scientific journal magazine Nature.
It was previously believed that this ability was unique to humans, but recent discoveries have shown that this is not the case.
In the experiment, researchers trained several bumblebees to open a puzzle box containing a sweet bait. To do this, insects had to perform actions in a certain order that living things could not understand on their own.
After this, the trained bumblebees were placed in a group of inexperienced bumblebees. Some of the new bumblebees, watching the actions of their trained brothers, learned to solve the task.
A similar experiment was conducted among chimpanzees. First, a group of 66 monkeys were presented with a box of peanuts to pick up a wooden ball, open the box, place the object in the slot, and close the lid. For three months the animals still could not solve the puzzle.
People then taught the two people the correct sequence of actions. After two months, 14 chimpanzees mastered the task, drawing on the experience of other monkeys.
The authors of the study noted that animals once again demonstrated the ability to perform complex behaviors that until recently were considered the prerogative of humans.
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Source: Gazeta
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