Skip to content
  • Happy Health
  • Happy Mindset
  • Animal Wonders
  • About Us
    • Team
  • Subscribe
Menu
  • Happy Health
  • Happy Mindset
  • Animal Wonders
  • About Us
    • Team
  • Subscribe
Happy News

Scientists Taught Bees To Read Morse Code

A groundbreaking new study from Queen Mary University of London is the first to show that an insect can differentiate between different durations of visual cues, with bumblebees successfully learning to distinguish between Morse code style dots and dashes, an ability previously seen only in humans and other vertebrates including macaques and pigeons. Researchers built a special maze to train individual bees to find a sugar reward at one of two flashing circles, with short flashes or “dots” associated with sugar while long flashes or “dashes” were paired with bitter quinine that bees dislike. At each room in the maze the position of the dot and dash stimulus changed so bees couldn’t rely on spatial cues, forcing them to truly learn the difference between flash durations rather than locations.

After bees learned to go straight to the correct flashing circle paired with sugar, they were tested with flashing lights but no sugar present to confirm their choices were driven by the light duration rather than olfactory or visual cues from the reward itself. PhD student Alex Davidson expressed excitement at seeing the bees succeed, noting it’s remarkable they could accomplish this task since they don’t encounter flashing stimuli in their natural environment. Most of the bees went straight to the correct flashing light duration previously associated with sugar regardless of spatial location, clearly showing they had learned to tell the lights apart based solely on duration in brains smaller than one cubic millimeter. The surprising ability to encode and process time duration might be a fundamental component of the nervous system intrinsic to neuron properties, with implications for understanding complex cognitive traits in artificial neural networks that should seek biological inspiration for maximum efficiency.

PrevPreviousRescue Chihuahua Only Responds To Spanish
Next12 Year Old’s Response To Bullies Teaches Everyone A LessonNext

Recent Articles

Happy News

Bill Nye Will Receive His Well Deserved Lifetime Achievement Award

February 8, 2026

Bill Nye the Science Guy is about to receive one of the highest honors in children’s television when the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences presents him with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 4th Annual Children’s and Family Emmy Awards on March 1 at Jazz at Lincoln Center

Read More
Happy News

Taylor Swift’s Kitchen Skills Were Unexpected

February 8, 2026

Taylor Swift has become a beloved member of the Kelce family not just through her relationship with NFL star Travis Kelce but also through her impressive skills in the kitchen, particularly her baking abilities that have won over the entire clan including Chiefs teammates. On her podcast Not Gonna Lie,

Read More
Happy News

Will and Jada Smith Support Their Son During Fashion Week Debut

February 8, 2026

Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith proudly supported their son Jaden at his debut appearance as Christian Louboutin’s first men’s creative director during Paris Fashion Week, and they reportedly looked to be in great spirits despite living separately since 2016. The couple’s outing marked the first time they had been

Read More
« Previous Next »
  • Privacy Notice
  • Accessibility Notice
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
  • Unsubscribe
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Privacy Notice
  • Accessibility Notice
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
  • Unsubscribe
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
Copyright © 2026 HappyNews.