Published in Science · View the paper (DOI)
Researchers from Finland discover that bumble bees can solve novel problems by combining objects in new ways, similar to the famous 'box-and-banana' experiment with chimpanzees. The bees were not trained and had no prior experience with the solution.
Coverage from 2 institutions
- Bumble bees show spontaneous problem-solving in study published in Science University of Oulu, Finland · Jun 4, 2026 · first to report
- Make a beeline for it: Bumble bees can use a tool to solve a task without specific training American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) · Jun 4, 2026