Smart insects - The astonishing intelligence of bumblebees, wasps & co. | DW Documentary

The latest research shows we’ve long underestimated the intelligence of insects. Bumblebees, for example, succeed at behavioral tests also passed by intelligent crows. They use tools to reach nectar in an artificial flower.

Behavioral biologist Elizabeth Tibbetts is amazed at the paper wasp’s capacity to learn and understand. "They may not be universal geniuses like artists, but they’re brilliant in their fields,” says the researcher at the University of Michigan. The animals can memorize faces, eavesdrop on fighting rivals to assess potential opponents and think strategically. They can master brain teasers that even small children can’t solve.

Bumblebees, along with their relatives bees and paper wasps, are just three of almost a million insect species worldwide. But when it comes to these species, science agrees that the image of robotic creatures with no intelligence, that only exist to eat, be eaten or produce offspring, is outdated.

Below, above and alongside us live tiny animals capable of learning and acting with intelligence. They are able to store images, shapes, colors and experiences in their brains. For a long time, it was generally believed that intelligent behavior in insects was superfluous, as most only live for a few weeks.

Earwigs live for about a year; as babies, their mothers apparently teach them how to nurture their own brood. What’s even more surprising: insects from the same clutch can develop different personality traits. In horseradish flea beetles, for example, some are braver than others. And, as evolutionary biologist Elizabeth Tibbetts says: "Paper wasps are as bitchy as the protagonists of Game of Thrones." The animals plot, betray colleagues and fight to the death to be queen.

The insect world is much more complex than previously thought. One reason is that any species with a wide range of diverse individuals can better adapt to climate changes - an evolutionary advantage for survival.

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[olavl]

Nice video. Some minor corrections:
6:55 "Drone bees hatch from fertilised eggs and worker bees hatch from unfertilised."
- It's the other way around.
8:20 "Each octogonal cell has exactly the same dimensions."
- The cells are hexagonal, not octogonal.

[KevinN-dfeo]

I count this as a good day, as I have learnt something new. Fascinating.

[EdPetzolt]

While motoring down the itra coastal waterway on my 35 ft. sailboat a worker bee came aboard. She flew down into the cabin so I decided to give her a drop of honey. She consumed it and flew away. About an hour later she came back....and brought a friend. Bear in mind that, by that time, I was about 6 nautical miles down the waterway. She found my boat, flew back into the cabin and waited patiently for her reward. I kept bees when I was a kid....and was still amazed. Bees aren't dumb bugs....they're intelligent and fascinating to watch. Not to mention they provide us with pollenation and, , , , honey.

[MediaCreators]

Can we all agree that this is the kind of captivating and enriching content the audience truly deserves? It's time to move away from the notion that we must force others into a particular ideology.

[olafvonbraun]

Real Housewives of Atlanta behave exactly like bunch of wasps: two fight and the others stand and watch while we all sit back and look at the drama. Fascinating 😂

[rrw]

A few times I have watched yellowjackets intentionally fly into spider webs to steal a spider's prey. They crawl along the strands awkwardly, cut out the cocooned prey, and fly off with it unharmed. They figured out how spider webs work and how not to get stuck.

[jeffmckinnon]

Learning something new, is always welcomed in my house. I never knew that they have individual faces. That is huge, and it speaks volumes, even without the other experiments.
These are sophisticated little creatures that make choices based on experiences.
They value their lives and weigh the consequences while they do their jobs.
That is thinking!
What a great video. Thx.

[Ethanxm]

Can you please for next follow up video do "How big brains do dumb things?"

[aliceberethart]

I've helped bumblebees out of ponds and one time they sent me a very small thank you letter.

[ragnarlothbrok]

I have a great deal of respect for insects. They were here before us and will be here long after we’ve destroyed ourselves.

[nkosilangazane]

just for laughs: imagine if someone grabbed you while eating dinner, marked you with a yellow substance, put you in a box and drove hundreds of kilometres away to see if you will find your way home without using google maps😂😂

[EarlGreyLattex]

If you've ever had to tussle with a mosquito at 3am and a wasp during your picnic you'd know that all insects are smarter than they look

[yanweige-vm]

Can't get enough of this site, it's addictive!😢😢

[FloRangutan]

"we'll let them off somewhere with no flowers to attract them"

* lets them out next to a dozen potted flowers*

[toptohyekoms]

As an alien I still get fascinated and somehow disappointed about humans still thinking that size matters! Its a basic universal thing that this does not matter.

[sufaldasgupta]

Amazing, informative documentary. I love DW docomentaries.

[battybethc]

Those Mustard Beetles are cuteness on overload! Thanks for the Video! 👍😊

[shoofly-mx]

I've seen something that isn't known of. Black ants with search parties. I was watching an ant line in the yard and a few would walk out in a little circle and go back into the line. Left side loop, right side loop, left side loop, etc. The only thing I could think it could be was search parties looking for food as they traveled. It was quite mesmerizing. And amazing. I never saw ants act like that before. I haven't seen them do it again. But then I'm not out watching black ant lines very much either. I did call Colorado State University Entomology department and discuss it with a professor though.

[mohammedsaysrashid]

It was a wonderful insect neurological scientific documentary shared by an amazing (DW )documentary channel ...thanks for sharing

[viveviveka]

Those large, complex, subdivided deep-underground ant colonies are absolutely amazing in their complexity, size, many individually purposed rooms or chambers, fungal gardens, specialized roles, communications, and organization.