Honey Bees Grasp the Concept of Zero

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Honey Bees Are the First Insect Known to Grasp the Concept of Zero

By giving bees visual math quizzes, scientists discovered that these insects know a null set when they see one.

Becky Ferreira
Jun 7 2018, 2:00pm

Despite their small brains, bees are capable of complex behavior, such as solving puzzles and learning skills through imitation. Now, researchers have discovered that honey bees also grasp the slippery concept of zero, marking the first time this ability has ever been observed in an insect.

According to a study published Thursday in Science, honey bees can distinguish between zero and other numbers, and even exhibited similar patterns of recognition to humans.

Led by Scarlett Howard, a PhD student at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, the team reached this conclusion by giving bees visual math quizzes using white placards with different quantities of black shapes on them.

Read the article here:
https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/artic...pt-of-zero