MRU student conducting research surrounding bees and the art of play
Liam Rockliffe, Staff Writer |
Play. It’s something that isn’t needed to survive, nor does it provide any physical advantage in the wilderness; and yet, we see it everyday in humans, dogs, birds, and – as Mount Royal University’s (MRU) student Abhay Ball and professor Robert Owen are researching – bees.
Owen has a PhD from the University of Toronto and has been invested in bee research for 40 years.
Ball is an honours biology student who is using this research opportunity as a way to explore new areas in science and biology – an opportunity that is less available after the undergraduate program.
Research on bee habits is very recent in the scientific community. The first instance of this type of research occurred in 2022, where London researchers discovered bees’ behaviour with rolling small balls.
“This is a topic that has garnered much interest from both the scientific community and the public,” Ball said. “We found this topic to be so novel and interesting that we almost had to undertake it.”
Ball and Owen have the opportunity to be trailblazers in the world of “small brained” animals doing “big brained” things.
“The main benefit of this research is that it helps us understand more about animal behaviour, as it investigates the potential for complex behaviours, such as play,” Ball said. “It offers insights into the cognitive potential of bumblebees, suggesting that they may experience a form of intrinsic reward from an activity that does not serve an immediate survival function.”
In the past, it has been assumed that only invertebrates participate in behaviours of play. However, observing bees partake in “non-survival” related activities and seemingly receive rewards proves that there may be more to an insects’ personal lives.
It has been observed that bees “play” with small balls while in a well fed and low stress environment. Ball and Owen’s research takes this one step further; investigating if a bee’s behaviour with balls transfers over to non-spherical shapes, such as wooden blocks.
Ball and Owen’s research has provided many results which can change how we understand “small brained” creatures and their place in nature. With bees’ performing actions that provide no physical advantages it could mean that insects have more complex thoughts and perhaps feelings than otherwise assumed.
Ball and Owen’s produced findings that show a bee’s behaviour with wooden blocks has little to no difference compared to a bee’s behaviour with balls. Additionally, bees actually partake in “climbing” the wooden blocks for no reason other than satisfaction. Potentially meaning that it doesn’t matter the shape or size of the toy, bees just love to play.
