The Mind of a Bee
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-07-31 20:22:03
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Lars Chittka
- ISBN：B09NCLMHVM
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
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。
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。
Reviews
Santiago Hernandez
，
One week ago， I walked into a bookstore and spotted this book immediately。 I've been meaning to be more "spontaneous" about the books I read i。e。 reading something out of my intrinsic interest at the time rather than resorting to personal book lists。 So， I walked out with this book， and I must say， despite having NEVER read anything related to bees or insects for that matter， it was a fantastic read！ Chittka covers an assortment of topics， ranging from how bees visualize the world， how they comm One week ago， I walked into a bookstore and spotted this book immediately。 I've been meaning to be more "spontaneous" about the books I read i。e。 reading something out of my intrinsic interest at the time rather than resorting to personal book lists。 So， I walked out with this book， and I must say， despite having NEVER read anything related to bees or insects for that matter， it was a fantastic read！ Chittka covers an assortment of topics， ranging from how bees visualize the world， how they communicate， their intelligence and differences between bees as well as colonies， and whether bees have consciousness。 Throughout each chapter， Chittka includes and explains （in layman's terms） the studies that give possible explanations to each chapter's question。 Overall， great read。 。。。more
Irene
，
Having already read Honeybee Democracy， which is referenced quite often in this book， and The Lives of Bees: The Untold Story of the Honey Bee in the Wild， I had a solid base before starting this one， but I think reading this book first would have been better。 It's broader in its scope， so if you haven't read Seeley's yet， you may want to start here instead。 Definitely read Honeybee Democracy afterwards， though， since it details the waggle dance and the social structure of bees， and it's fascina Having already read Honeybee Democracy， which is referenced quite often in this book， and The Lives of Bees: The Untold Story of the Honey Bee in the Wild， I had a solid base before starting this one， but I think reading this book first would have been better。 It's broader in its scope， so if you haven't read Seeley's yet， you may want to start here instead。 Definitely read Honeybee Democracy afterwards， though， since it details the waggle dance and the social structure of bees， and it's fascinating。 Also referenced assiduously is Karl von Frisch， who was a giant in this field of study。 I have yet to read any of his books because I think they're even more technical than Seeley's， but Animal Architecture is calling my name。Chittka makes a convincing argument for individual variability in bees personalities and why and how their choices may be affected by their size， which correlates to how much they were fed as larvae， and any other predispositions that make them better and one task or another， or more or less adventurous and relentless in their pursuit of pollen and nectar， and even their preference for one or the other。 The experiments to study the bees behaviour were really interesting。 You'd think it would be easier to confuse a bee so they'd get a little lost， but they haven't been getting enough credit for how good they are at navigating the world。 A wonderful read。My one nitpick is the use of the term "vegan" for bees， as opposed to wasps， who are carnivores。。 Veganism is a term used by people to denote not eating or using animal products for any number of ethical reasons。 People not eating animal products for health reasons usually refer to themselves as plant-based。 Animals who only eat plants， unless someone changed it and didn't tell me， are called herbivores。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Mind of a Bee
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Mind of a Bee&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Mind of a Bee&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0