The Mind of a Bee, Lars Chittka
The Mind of a Bee, Lars Chittka
2 Rating(s)
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The Mind of a Bee

Author: Lars Chittka

Narrator: Michael Butler Murray

Unabridged: 7 hr 55 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 07/26/2022

Categories: Nonfiction, Nature, Animals


Synopsis

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 listeners 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.

About Lars Chittka

Lars Chittka is professor of sensory and behavioral ecology at Queen Mary University of London. He is coeditor of Cognitive Ecology of Pollination.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Irene on August 22, 2022

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 ha......more

Goodreads review by Riccardo on June 24, 2024

Nella Mente di un Ape è libro rivoluzionario. Scritto da un ricercatore del settore e non da un divulgatore fa uso di evidenze scientifiche descritte tramite grafici e figure per argomentare su cosa vuol dire essere un Ape. Se provvisti di qualche nozione di neurobiologia e biologia comparativa, la......more

Goodreads review by Ari on October 24, 2023

A well researched book that explains what we know about how bees (and other insects) perceive the world. The author does a good job of not only explaining a complex topic but also in arguing that there’s a lot more going on inside a bee’s head than we typically give them credit for. A quick and enga......more

Goodreads review by Ted on September 05, 2022

I have an interest in bees mostly because I like photographing them. This is a very good book, but in some ways too detailed and scientific for me. Not that it is full of complicated mathematical analyses but he does site many scientific studies about bees, including ones that didn't succeed in prov......more

Goodreads review by Gabi on February 18, 2024

If you’ve ever been a smidge interested in bees, then this will blow your mind!!! I liked how it wasn’t just fact spitting, and took the time to comprehensively explain experiments, results and implications (there are also fancy colored diagrams and pictures 😜). It was very science-y and still engag......more