A bumblebee with a puzzle to solve sounds unlikely, but new research says the insects can do exactly that.

Scientists say bumblebees solved several new object-manipulation tasks in a series of experiments, despite having tiny brains. The findings, published in the journal Science, challenge the long-standing assumption that spontaneous problem-solving is restricted to humans and other large-brained vertebrates.

More than 100 years ago, psychologist Wolfgang Köhler showed that chimps could solve novel problems by suddenly combining objects in new ways, such as stacking boxes to reach an out-of-reach banana. Researchers in Finland now say they found “strikingly similar” problem-solving abilities in bumblebees.

The bees solved a completely novel object-manipulation task without being trained on the solution itself. They first learned that a blue artificial flower signaled reward. During the test, the flower was moved to the ceiling of a transparent arena, out of reach.

To access it, the bees had to move a ball underneath the flower and climb onto it, a behavioral sequence they had never previously encountered or been trained to perform.

Study senior author Dr Olli Loukola said: “This is essentially an insect version of the classic ‘box-and-banana’ problem.

“The animal must realize that an object can be repositioned and then used as a tool to reach an otherwise inaccessible goal.

“What stands out about the result is that this kind of spontaneous problem-solving is now demonstrated in an insect.”

Study lead author Akshaye Bhambore said: “What makes this behavior especially remarkable is that the bees had never been trained to roll the ball. This was a completely new challenge.

“Their behavior appeared goal-directed with successful individuals showing more directed movement patterns.”

He said the bees were not trained to move the ball underneath the flower. Instead, they learned two separate pieces of information beforehand: that the blue artificial flower contained reward, and that the ball was a movable, nonthreatening object.

When tested in a completely new situation, many bees used their prior experience with the flower and the movable ball in a way that went beyond the behaviors they had been trained to perform.

Loukola said: “Another important aspect is that our bees were fully naive.

“In many previous studies of insight-like problem-solving, the animals have had extensive experience with objects, test environments, or other problem-solving tasks.

“Here, the bees had never been trained to use the ball to reach the flower, and they had no previous experience with this kind of solution.

“We also designed the experiments to rule out simpler explanations such as accidental success, play behavior, trial-and-error learning, or direct visual guidance.”

The Finnish research team designed several control experiments to rule out simpler explanations based on accidental solve or direct visual guidance. In the more demanding tasks, the flower was hidden from the bees while they moved the ball, stopping them from simply steering toward a visible target. Even under those conditions, bees still successfully moved the ball to the correct location.

Bhambore, a doctoral researcher at the University of Oulu, said: “By analyzing the bees’ behavior across unusually stringent control experiments, we could show that they were not simply reacting to visual stimuli or moving the ball randomly.”

Study co-author Ece Nur Akmeşe, from the University of Helsinki, said: “One moment the animal is exploring seemingly without direction, and the next it performs a highly efficient sequence of actions leading directly to the solution.

“Watching the bees solving the task was genuinely fascinating.”

The study builds on growing evidence that bees possess sophisticated cognitive abilities despite their tiny brains. Previous research has shown that bees can socially learn tool use, solve puzzle-like tasks, cooperate with one another, and flexibly adapt their behavior.

The researchers said the findings do not imply human-like reasoning or consciousness in insects.

Loukola, currently working as a senior researcher at the University of Turku, said: “We are not claiming that bees think like humans.

“But our findings show that miniature brains can generate flexible solutions to novel problems in ways we are only beginning to understand.”

He added: “For over a century, spontaneous object-based problem-solving has mostly been studied in vertebrates.

“Our study suggests insects may belong in that conversation too.”

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