Bumblebees socially learn behaviour too complex to innovate alone

nature.com

11 pointsmrcgnc2 comments

As a bit of context: Bees and wasps are in the taxonomic order Hymenoptera, which they also share with ants. It is the only order of insects [0] besides Isoptera (termites) with complex social systems and division of labor.

Ants, of course, also have a division of labor and, if I understand the terminology, a 'social system'. I wonder if every family/genus/species in Hymenoptera has these capabilities, including learning complex behavior.

[0] I'm not sure if precisely, those are the only such orders among insects (class Insecta) or among all arthropods (phylum Arthropoda).

At some point Napoleon (who, for propaganda purposes, obviously had to replace the lilies* of the french monarchy) chose bees.

I wonder if anyone left a rationale for this decision, and if so, whether it mentions social systems?

* considering the lily: a monarch can't have a day job, as they spend far too much time intriguing (in the old days) or shuttling between photo ops (in our days) to have 40 hours/week free for to spend away from the sword of Damocles; the best they can hope for is a few stolen moments in the privacy of the Drones' Club.

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