The Mind of a Bee

Product Information

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. Thanks to Lars Chittka’s captivating account of bees’ thinking and feeling, I now look with fresh eyes at these small animals. They plan ahead, feel pain, and express their very own personalities. The ingenious experimental evidence Chittka offers in support of these and many other points is as convincing as it is fascinating.”―Barbara J. King, author of Animals’ Best Friends: Putting Compassion to Work for Animals in Captivity and in the Wild second off let me say this book was a bit hard to get thru because i dont typically read nonfiction. it was interesting, but i think i prefer individual articles when reading about experiments and results. that being said- it was convenient to hav all the information in one place.

The Mind of a Bee by Lars Chittka | Goodreads

Ook al verscheen Chittka’s boek oorspronkelijk bij Princeton University Press, toch vergt het geen voorkennis. Alleen het deel waarin hij het over het brein van de bij heeft is soms wat taai, maar dat kan ook moeilijk anders. Hoe kun je immers uitleggen dat een bij slechts over 850.000 neuronen beschikt maar daar heel veel mee kan doordat ieder neuron 100.000.000 connecties aangaat? Bees are not a "hive mind" like you see in science fiction (no animal is, as far as we can tell), each bee is very much an individual and can have its own ideas about itself and the world.Bees could be trained to solve maze puzzles (e.g., turn right if the entrance is blue, left if yellow) and retained the memory for life. Chittka proves that bees have tremendous levels of intelligence, and quite possibly consciousness. Seriously.. think about that. If insects are clearly capable of so much, what does that imply for the multitude of life that surrounds us, which we honor so rarely! The is the prototypical 5-star book: approachable and entertaining, while profound and fascinating.

The Mind of a Bee | Princeton University Press

Fascinating and thorough. The small font seemed uninviting when I first began but fit the content and tone of the book quite well. Nicely illustrated explanations of many of the scientific experiments which were cited. I have an aquaintance here in S. London who is a gardener and he is snowed under with people who want wild flower meadows in place of their lawns… In his latest book, The Mind of a Bee, published on 19 July, he argues that bees need our protection, not just because they are useful for crop pollination and biodiversity, but because they may be sentient beings – and humans have an ethical obligation to ensure their survival.

The knowledge on offer here is as entertaining as it is edifying. Readers won’t look at bees the same way again."— Publishers Weekly