We all know that bumblebees are hard workers, spending their days pollinating flowers, but a new study has shown that bumblebees also love to play and enjoy rolling small wooden balls just for the fun of it.
It is amazing that these studies are showing that bees actually experience pleasure and will choose to play without any type of food reward. The behavior is voluntary and often spontaneous.
Some of the tests gave the bumblebees a clear path to a feeding area with a side area where they could play with the wooden balls. All of the bumblebees stopped to play with the balls with no other food payoff.
Another test provided two areas with different colors, one where the bumblebees could play with balls and the other one empty. The bumblebees consistently chose the area with balls even choosing that side after the balls were removed.
Read more at https://www.optimistdaily.com/2022/11/study-reveals-bumblebees-play-with-toys-for-fun-too/