Bees can experience emotions and mood swings.
Scientists said that the physical shifts and changes in the behavior of the bees are accompanied by feelings of happiness and sadness.
In the study, researchers trained 24 bees so the insects associated with specific locations and color in the lab with the cylinders of a sugar or plain water. Then the scientists shut down the cylinders, and half of the bees were given water with high sugar content — the bee equivalent of chocolate and measured the time it took the insects to climb into the container with the hole. It was located between the two closed cylinders and were painted in the secondary color, so that the bees did not know if there is sugar water or not.
Insects that received the treat quickly into an unknown secondary trough, as if he were feeling more optimistic about the contents of the container. Moreover, they are not just moving more actively because of a rush of energy, both types of bees are equally aggressive climb into the feeder, which was definitely the food, and reluctantly climbs into the tank with plain water.
To see if a sugar cube to remove a negative experience, the researchers simulated attack of a predator, carefully 35 by placing the insects in a trap that was like a web of spider-crabs. These spiders often prey on bees, but those unable to escape. Then insects from the trap was released. Bees received sugar, flew to the feeder four times faster than those who were not given anything.
We can assume that the sweet food increases positive emotions and helps to recover from the negative — just like people. After the bees were given a drug that blocks dopamine, which is responsible in humans for the reward system, all the effects of sugar had virtually disappeared. This suggests that bees behave in accordance with the mood, emphasize the scientists.
