The Mind of a Bee

Starred review from April 1, 2022

A leading expert on bee psychology takes readers on a fascinating journey into the mind of man's best insect friend. Chittka (sensory and behavioral ecology, Queen Mary Univ., London) argues that bees, even with brains the size of a pinhead, are far from being "reflexive robots." His book examines bees' sensory world, their instinctual repertoire, and how it relates to learned behaviors. He also studies the evolutionary roots of bee intelligence, how they navigate the "flower supermarket," the possibility of bees having "personality" and possessing some form of consciousness (and the ethical implications of that), and much more. Chittka cites extensive scientific research, including his own, that shows bees pulling off surprising cognitive feats (recognizing flowers and human faces, displaying emotions, counting, and using tools). Bees have long fascinated humanity, so it's fitting that Chittka also surveys the insights of eminent historical entomologists--adding another layer of interest and stylistic flair to the text's scholarly content. While some of Chittka's topics are challenging, the book's cogent structure, nifty illustrations, and smartly written chapter summaries and transitions will help pop-science readers through it. VERDICT The book's bees astound; so too the clever humans who study them.--Robert Eagan

Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 11, 2022
Chittka, a behavioral ecology professor at Queen Mary University of London, combines cutting-edge science with a rich historical perspective in this take on what it means to be a bee. His goal, which he accomplishes remarkably well, is to dispel the belief that an individual bee is nothing more than “a mindless cog” in a hive; instead, he argues, bees have “beautifully elaborate brains.” He considers whether bees have individual personalities, experience consciousness, or dream­, and in each case, using experiments he and his coworkers have undertaken, explores the likelihood of answers in the affirmative. He demonstrates that bees can be trained to recognize faces, “have a visual processing speed five times faster than humans,” are capable of learning certain tasks that prove they comprehend the concepts of “above” and “below” quicker than primates, and can learn to use tools. Throughout, Chittka offers evolutionary explanations for many of the behaviors he describes—insects, for example, “were pre-adapted for flower color-coding hundreds of millions of years before there were any flowers.” The knowledge on offer here is as entertaining as it is edifying. Readers won’t look at bees the same way again.