Many insects behave mainly by instinct. However, some insects also show learned behaviour. This is especially true of social insects such as honeybees. For example, bees must learn and remember where food is located and communicate this to other bees in the colony. That is only one of many things bees do, such as the democratic process by which a group chooses a new nest site.
To find a site for a new nest, many scout bees set out to search. When they return, they tell the other bees where they found a site and how attractive it is. The scouts then go out again and investigate sites other bees found promising. At each site, a scout decides whether it prefers that location to the one it found itself. When it returns, it shares this information with the colony. The process repeats, and each bee may change its preference from one possible site to another. Eventually, some sites become more popular than others. The more bees that prefer a particular location, the more likely other scouts are to investigate it and make their own assessment. In this way the swarm eventually reaches a consensus and chooses a place for its new home.
Some people will undoubtedly accuse me of using human terminology to describe this process, and they are right. But it would be much harder to describe if I could not use words such as “think” or “decide” about the bees.
In any case, this account shows that insect behaviour is more than instinct. Instinctive behaviour means repeating the same actions without regard to past experience. These bees clearly take into account what they remember from previous scouting trips and make complex decisions.
For this consensus process to work, each bee must assess a site objectively, whether or not it is the site that bee found itself. If people tried to repeat the process, it might be difficult for them to be so impartial. Human nature tends to make us prefer the option we found, whether or not it is the best one.
Continue with these questions:
- Could all insect behaviour be predicted by a predetermined algorithm, like a computer programme?
- Do you include insects in your animal-rights philosophy?
- What would you do if a colony of insects invaded your home?
- Do you consider killing an insect morally equivalent to killing a bird or mammal?
- How do you know that plants cannot feel pain?