Bumblebees

Divas, captains, ghosts, ants and bumble-bees: collaborator attitudes explained

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It takes all sorts: different collaborators approach projects in different ways, and managing relationships between them is a crucial challenge.Credit: Andriy Onufriyenko/Getty As a psychologist, I’m equipped with a theoretical understanding of emotions, attitudes, beliefs and behaviour – and, because of this, I might reasonably be expected to manage relationships with collaborators effectively. Some of … Read more

Bumblebees show behaviour previously thought to be unique to humans

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Scientists have long accepted the existence of animal culture, be that tool use in New Caledonian crows, or Japanese macaques washing sweet potatoes. Read the paper here: Bumblebees socially learn behaviour too complex to innovate alone But one thing thought to distinguish human culture is our ability to do things too complex to work out … Read more

Bumblebees socially learn behaviour too complex to innovate alone

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Culture in animals can be broadly conceptualized as the sum of a population’s behavioural traditions, which, in turn, are defined as behaviours that are transmitted through social learning and that persist in a population over time4. Although culture was once thought to be exclusive to humans and a key explanation of our own evolutionary success, … Read more