But bees can do something more, according to a paper published earlier this month in the peer-reviewed Science Advances journal. It also sheds light on the evolution of quantitative abilities in other species, decoupling numerical understanding from human language. But across 100 trials each, the bees came to understand when they were supposed to choose the +1 or the -1 option. She added that the results were conclusive enough that the researchers felt confident with their hive of 14 bees. The discovery casts doubt on the idea that numerical understanding is innate to humans, who are separated from honeybees by more than 400 million years of evolution, as the paper notes.

Source: National Post February 26, 2019 15:00 UTC