Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Optimal Foraging00:48

Optimal Foraging

13.7K
How animals obtain and eat their food is called foraging behavior. Foraging can include searching for plants and hunting for prey and depends on the species and environment.
13.7K
What is Behavior?00:54

What is Behavior?

10.2K
Behaviors are actions that an organism engages in—they can be related to finding food, reproducing, defending against threats, and many other possible actions. Behaviors include activities related to the environment around the animal—such as migration—as well as social interactions within a species or population. Many behaviors involve motor output—that is, muscle movements—while others involve less visible actions, such as learning.
10.2K
Altruism01:03

Altruism

43.0K
Altruistic behaviors are “unselfish” behaviors—those that help another individual at the expense of the individual carrying out the behavior. Despite the negative consequences for the altruistic animal, these behaviors are thought to have evolved for several reasons.
43.0K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Attention, awareness and flexibility in honeybees: divergent effects of distraction on delay versus trace reversal learning.

Proceedings. Biological sciences·2026
Same author

Stimuli that fit: a biology-aligned approach to numerical cognition research.

Proceedings. Biological sciences·2026
Same author

Emotional contagion of positive mood in insects.

Journal of experimental psychology. Animal learning and cognition·2026
Same author

Cognitive neuroscience and miniature brains-Dissecting higher-order learning in the brain of honey bees.

Comptes rendus biologies·2025
Same author

Seasonal and nutritional modulation of honeybee olfactory learning by the short neuropeptide F.

Proceedings. Biological sciences·2025
Same author

Pesticides and pollinator brain: How do neonicotinoids affect the central nervous system of bees?

The European journal of neuroscience·2024
Same journal

Crepuscular vocal partitioning and thermal limits on calling behavior in the Bubbling Kassina (Kassina senegalensis) in a sub-equatorial savanna.

Journal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology·2026
Same journal

Jewel beetles, Buprestidae, modulate bright structural colours by multileveled optical engineering and surface sculpting.

Journal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology·2026
Same journal

E122Q rhodopsin: pigment microspectrophotometry, photoreceptor light responses, and bleaching adaptation.

Journal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology·2026
Same journal

Greater Japanese horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus nippon) gradually converge their echolocation call frequency to colony members.

Journal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology·2026
Same journal

Tail-rattling in rodents: more than a threat display.

Journal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology·2026
Same journal

Iridescence, polarisation and directionality of Morpho butterfly displays.

Journal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 24, 2026

Preparation of Single-cohort Colonies and Hormone Treatment of Worker Honeybees to Analyze Physiology Associated with Role and/or Endocrine System
08:53

Preparation of Single-cohort Colonies and Hormone Treatment of Worker Honeybees to Analyze Physiology Associated with Role and/or Endocrine System

Published on: September 6, 2016

16.3K

Honeybees foraging for numbers.

Martin Giurfa1,2

  • 1College of Bee Science, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, China. martin.giurfa@univ-tlse3.fr.

Journal of Comparative Physiology. A, Neuroethology, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology
|May 29, 2019
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Honeybees demonstrate impressive numerical cognition, including counting and quantity discrimination, comparable to vertebrates. This suggests an evolutionary convergence of numerical abilities across diverse species.

Keywords:
CountingHoneybeeInsectNumerical processingNumerosity

More Related Videos

Histology Basics and Cell Death Detection in Honeybee Tissue
06:18

Histology Basics and Cell Death Detection in Honeybee Tissue

Published on: July 7, 2022

3.0K
Simultaneous Long-term Recordings at Two Neuronal Processing Stages in Behaving Honeybees
13:55

Simultaneous Long-term Recordings at Two Neuronal Processing Stages in Behaving Honeybees

Published on: July 21, 2014

13.5K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jan 24, 2026

Preparation of Single-cohort Colonies and Hormone Treatment of Worker Honeybees to Analyze Physiology Associated with Role and/or Endocrine System
08:53

Preparation of Single-cohort Colonies and Hormone Treatment of Worker Honeybees to Analyze Physiology Associated with Role and/or Endocrine System

Published on: September 6, 2016

16.3K
Histology Basics and Cell Death Detection in Honeybee Tissue
06:18

Histology Basics and Cell Death Detection in Honeybee Tissue

Published on: July 7, 2022

3.0K
Simultaneous Long-term Recordings at Two Neuronal Processing Stages in Behaving Honeybees
13:55

Simultaneous Long-term Recordings at Two Neuronal Processing Stages in Behaving Honeybees

Published on: July 21, 2014

13.5K

Area of Science:

  • Comparative Cognition
  • Neuroethology
  • Animal Behavior

Background:

  • Vertebrates share neural and behavioral mechanisms for number processing.
  • Honeybees, despite small brains, exhibit complex cognitive skills relevant to foraging.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review and analyze numerical processing abilities in honeybees.
  • To compare bee numerical cognition with vertebrate systems.
  • To explore the evolutionary convergence of numerical abilities.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing research on honeybee numerical cognition.
  • Analysis of foraging-related tasks involving landmark counting.
  • Examination of training protocols for matching, discrimination, and quantity-based choices.

Main Results:

  • Honeybees can count landmarks up to four and use numerosity for navigation.
  • They learn symbolic matching and quantity discrimination tasks (e.g., 'smaller than').
  • Performance indicates an understanding of zero as a numerical concept.

Conclusions:

  • Honeybee numerical abilities share features with vertebrate systems.
  • These findings support the hypothesis of evolutionary convergence in numerical cognition.
  • Numerical processing is present in both invertebrates and vertebrates, suggesting a shared evolutionary origin.