The Mind of a Bee
eBook - ePub

The Mind of a Bee

  1. 304 pages
  2. English
  3. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

The Mind of a Bee

About this book

A rich and surprising exploration of the intelligence of bees

Most of us are aware of the hive mind—the power of bees as an amazing collective. But do we know how uniquely intelligent bees are as individuals? In The Mind of a Bee, Lars Chittka draws from decades of research, including his own pioneering work, to argue that bees have remarkable cognitive abilities. He shows that they are profoundly smart, have distinct personalities, can recognize flowers and human faces, exhibit basic emotions, count, use simple tools, solve problems, and learn by observing others. They may even possess consciousness.

Taking readers deep into the sensory world of bees, Chittka illustrates how bee brains are unparalleled in the animal kingdom in terms of how much sophisticated material is packed into their tiny nervous systems. He looks at their innate behaviors and the ways their evolution as foragers may have contributed to their keen spatial memory. Chittka also examines the psychological differences between bees and the ethical dilemmas that arise in conservation and laboratory settings because bees feel and think. Throughout, he touches on the fascinating history behind the study of bee behavior.

Exploring an insect whose sensory experiences rival those of humans, The Mind of a Bee reveals the singular abilities of some of the world's most incredible creatures.

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Yes, you can access The Mind of a Bee by Lars Chittka in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Biological Sciences & Cognitive Psychology & Cognition. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover Page
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Dedication
  5. Contents
  6. Chapter 1. Introduction
  7. Chapter 2. Seeing in Strange Colors
  8. Chapter 3. The Alien Sensory World of Bees
  9. Chapter 4. “It’s Just Instinct”—or Is It?
  10. Chapter 5. The Roots of Bee Intelligence and Communication
  11. Chapter 6. Learning about Space
  12. Chapter 7. Learning about Flowers
  13. Chapter 8. From Social Learning to “Swarm Intelligence”
  14. Chapter 9. The Brains Behind It All
  15. Chapter 10. “Personality” Differences between Bees
  16. Chapter 11. Do Bees Have Consciousness?
  17. Chapter 12. Afterword
  18. Acknowledgments
  19. Notes and Bibliography
  20. Illustration Credits
  21. Index