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The remarkable intelligence of bees is truly astonishing, showcasing just how smart nature can be. At the same time, we must remain vigilant about potential dangers, like the beasts that could one day pose a catastrophic threat to our world.
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00:00So, it's amazing how smart bumblebees are.
00:03Despite having brains the size of a poppy seed,
00:06these little insects have incredible intelligence.
00:09Recently, researchers discovered that bees have emotions and might even be sentient.
00:14For example, they can show signs of anxiety in scary situations,
00:18like a simulated predator attack.
00:21They become hesitant and cautious, even avoiding perfectly safe flowers.
00:25This indicates they might have feelings similar to what we call emotions.
00:30They can also feel discomfort and pleasure.
00:33Scientists train bees to associate colors with rewards and surprises.
00:37When the bees got a surprise treat, they acted happier and more resilient.
00:42Hey, don't you?
00:43They also put bees in situations where they had to choose between discomfort and rewards.
00:49The bees showed they could weigh the options and make decisions based on what they felt.
00:54This suggests they might experience discomfort, just like we do.
00:58They can even display complex emotions, like optimism, frustration, and playfulness.
01:04And these are not the only surprises bees showed us.
01:08Bees are more than just honeymakers and pollinators.
01:11There are over 25,000 different species of bees worldwide, each with its own unique lifestyle.
01:18They live in a sensory world that's totally different from ours, seeing things in ultraviolet and polarized light.
01:25They can even sense the Earth's magnetic and electrical fields.
01:29This helps them figure out which flowers have already been visited by other bees.
01:34A big moment in bee evolution happened way back in the Jurassic period.
01:39Their ancestors decided to switch from wandering around to settling down in nests.
01:44This change required them to remember the location of their home base, or else they'd be in big trouble.
01:50So their brains adapted, and certain areas grew larger and more complex to handle all the new information.
01:57And now, millions of years later, they've turned into incredibly smart creatures.
02:03They can even solve math puzzles.
02:05Boy, I could've used some bees in middle school.
02:09Yeah, that's right.
02:11Bees seem to grasp the concepts of addition and subtraction.
02:15Researchers set up special math mazes, shaped like the letter Y, for the bees to navigate.
02:20Instead of using numbers or symbols, which bees can't understand, they used colors.
02:26Blue meant add one, and yellow meant subtract one.
02:30The bees had to choose the right path based on the colors they saw at the beginning of the maze.
02:36After some training, where the bees completed a hundred trips through the mazes,
02:41they seemed to get the hang of it.
02:43Then came the test.
02:45The little insects got the correct answer more often than not,
02:48better than what you would expect by chance.
02:51This doesn't mean bees are doing complex math in their heads,
02:54but they might have flexible brains that can learn new tasks,
02:58even if they don't use them in the wild.
03:01They also showed an understanding of the concept of zero.
03:05Scientists trained them to recognize the smaller of two numbers.
03:09They showed the bees pictures with different numbers of shapes,
03:12rewarding them with sweet sugar water if they chose the picture with fewer shapes.
03:16But if they went for the picture with more shapes,
03:20they got a bitter taste of quinine.
03:22Yuck.
03:23Once the bees got the hang of it,
03:25the researchers introduced a new option,
03:27a blank picture with no shapes at all.
03:30And the bees chose the empty picture
03:32over images with two or three shapes almost half the time.
03:36This suggests that they understood that zero means less than two or three.
03:41In further tests,
03:42the bees showed they could tell the difference between one and zero.
03:46This might help them keep track of predators
03:49or find food sources more efficiently.
03:51And if bees can understand zero,
03:54who knows how many other animals out there can do the same?
03:58Not only can bees learn and remember new things,
04:01but they can also teach these things to each other,
04:04just like we do.
04:05Scientists set up a tricky puzzle box in a lab
04:08and trained some bumblebees to solve it.
04:11First, expert bees figured the puzzle out.
04:14Then, they taught their clueless buddies how to crack it.
04:18Turns out, not only humans can pass on knowledge in this way.
04:22In another experiment,
04:24bees were given a puzzle to solve over several days.
04:27Despite having plenty of time to crack it,
04:29they couldn't do it without a little human help.
04:32But once they saw the solution,
04:34they were quick to catch on.
04:36It's also discovered that if there's a super-genius bee in the group,
04:41its clever ideas might stick around
04:43and shape their societies for generations,
04:45surprisingly similar to humans.
04:48Even behaviors we thought were purely instinctive,
04:51like the famous honey dance,
04:53seemed to be influenced by social learning.
05:04Bees can even be taught to use tools,
05:07a skill previously thought to be limited
05:09to certain mammals, birds, and other creatures.
05:12They devised a test where bees had to move a tiny ball
05:15to the center of a platform to get a sweet reward.
05:19Bees don't do stuff like this in the wild,
05:21so biologists had to teach them.
05:24Using a plastic bee on a stick,
05:26the researchers demonstrated the task to the bees.
05:30After a few days of training,
05:31the bees began dragging the ball to the center
05:34all by themselves.
05:36And, once again,
05:37they showed other bees how to do it.
05:40What's interesting is that
05:41they didn't just copy blindly.
05:43When faced with new situations,
05:45they improved on what they had learned,
05:47choosing the most efficient route to success.
05:50For instance,
05:51when given a choice between different colored balls,
05:54the bees picked the one closest to the center,
05:57even though they had been trained with different conditions.
06:00This shows that bees aren't just following instructions.
06:03They're thinking and adapting to new challenges.
06:07Now, we used to think of bees as a homogeneous workforce.
06:11It's a huge hive mine,
06:13where everyone is tirelessly serving their queen.
06:16But this view is also being challenged by fascinating new research.
06:20Turns out,
06:21honeybees have distinct personalities.
06:24For example,
06:25some bees are more adventurous,
06:26while others prefer to stay close to the hive.
06:29A small percentage of bees,
06:31known as nest scouts,
06:33exhibit a thrill-seeking behavior
06:35by adventuring out in search of new hive locations.
06:38These brave scouts are not only more likely
06:41to seek out new nest sites,
06:43but also to engage in food scouting.
06:46And there are huge differences in gene activity
06:48in the brains of scouting bees
06:50compared to their non-scouting counterparts.
06:53The brains of scout bees
06:54showed heightened activity in reward systems.
06:57That's where their preference for novel experiences comes from.
07:01It's very similar to novelty-seeking behavior
07:03in humans and other animals.
07:06Sometimes,
07:07their personalities are even shaped
07:09by their memories and previous experiences.
07:11Some bees even showed signs of PTSD.
07:15So,
07:16in the hive,
07:17bees choose their jobs
07:18based on their personality traits.
07:21They can also be trained to detect any smell.
07:25They have a huge sensitivity to volatiles,
07:28and thanks to that,
07:29they can even detect diseases.
07:31Bees were trained to associate
07:32the scent of infected samples
07:34with a sugar-water reward.
07:36With repeated exposure,
07:37the bees quickly learned
07:39to extend their tongues
07:40in response to the scent alone,
07:42without the need for a reward.
07:44Thanks to that,
07:45they were able to detect
07:47infected samples within seconds.
07:49This worked with both
07:51mink and human samples.
07:52They showed very accurate results
07:54in distinguishing
07:55between infected and healthy samples.
07:58Now,
07:59we're trying to scale up
08:00this innovative approach
08:01and develop prototypes of machines
08:03capable of automatically
08:05training multiple bees simultaneously.
08:08This technology has the potential
08:10to serve as an effective diagnostic system,
08:13especially in low-income countries.
08:16And there are many more things bees can do.
08:19They can learn while sleeping,
08:21which means they can dream
08:22and see dreams of things
08:24they saw during the day.
08:25They can also remember human faces.
08:28They memorize unique features
08:30and can recognize them
08:31through repeat interactions.
08:33In one study,
08:34scientists paired images
08:36of human faces
08:37with sugar-water
08:38and found that bees
08:39recognized and remembered faces
08:41associated with the sweet reward,
08:43even when the reward was absent.
08:46This also helps them
08:47to recognize each other
08:48and return to flowers
08:50that produce more pollen.
08:51So,
08:52what does this mean for us?
08:53Well,
08:54if it's true that bees
08:55actually feel emotions
08:56and have some sort of sentience,
08:58this changes
09:00how we should treat them.
09:01They're already
09:02an endangered species.
09:03Now,
09:04we should treat them
09:05with much greater care.
09:06So,
09:07be careful
09:08around the bees.
09:11What do you think
09:13is one of the most dangerous
09:14animals in the world?
09:15It's not a venomous snake
09:17or a formidable tiger.
09:18Not a ferocious grizzly bear
09:20or a giant crocodile.
09:21An extremely dangerous creature
09:23that can destroy
09:24entire species of animals
09:26and can cause ecological imbalance
09:29around the world
09:29is the cane toad.
09:32It doesn't look scary
09:33and aggressive.
09:34It won't attack you
09:35or any predatory animal.
09:37It spends its time
09:38among grass and swamps,
09:40hunts insects and croaks.
09:42It has many enemies
09:43among predators,
09:44herons, lizards, and others.
09:46And look,
09:47the crocodile is swimming
09:48up to the toad
09:49and grabs it
09:50with its powerful jaws.
09:51Lunch is ready.
09:52But watch what happens next.
09:54The crocodile feels very bad.
09:57It loses its strength
09:58and lies on the grass,
10:00not breathing.
10:01Call it terminal indigestion.
10:04The fact is
10:05that the cane toad
10:06is a highly poisonous amphibian.
10:08It has paratoid glands
10:10between the shoulders
10:11from which it secretes
10:12a dangerous toxin.
10:13As soon as it gets
10:14into the stomach
10:15of any animal,
10:16it causes irreversible reactions
10:18in the whole organism.
10:20Animals that have eaten
10:21cane toads rarely survive.
10:23And now imagine
10:24there are a million toads
10:26like that,
10:27and each of them
10:28is an attractive lunch
10:29for predators.
10:30This creature is native
10:31to South and Central America,
10:33but became most famous
10:35after it caused
10:36an environmental disaster
10:37in Australia.
10:38It all started in 1935
10:40when people brought cane toads
10:43to fight the cane beetle.
10:44These insects
10:45were spoiling sugarcane crops
10:47in the northern part
10:48of the country.
10:49Farmers thought
10:50the imported toads
10:51would quickly get rid
10:52of the pests.
10:53But far from getting help,
10:55Australia received
10:56even more damage.
10:58The first problem
10:59was that toads
11:00didn't hunt bugs.
11:02Well, that would have been
11:03nice to know beforehand.
11:05Insects lived on the tall
11:06stalks of reeds,
11:07and toads couldn't
11:08jump as high.
11:09So toads would feed
11:10on other insects
11:11and multiply rapidly.
11:13Initially,
11:14about 100 reed toads
11:15were brought.
11:16Farmers managed to breed
11:18more than 2,000
11:19of these animals
11:19and release them
11:21into the fields.
11:22The amphibian population
11:23grew to 200 million
11:25in less than 85 years.
11:27They flooded Australia
11:29and caused a decrease
11:30in the population
11:31of those predatory animals
11:32that fed on them.
11:34Unfortunately,
11:35the local fauna
11:36didn't manage
11:36to develop immunity
11:37to the toad poison.
11:39The invasive toads
11:40would wander all over
11:41the northern part
11:42of the continent,
11:43spreading at a speed
11:44of 30 miles per hour
11:46and causing damage
11:47to all the biological
11:48environments they came across.
11:50Locals said
11:51they had witnessed birds
11:52falling from the sky
11:53after eating toads.
11:57These jumping animals
11:58are dangerous
11:59for those who eat
11:59and touch them.
12:00Any animal that licks
12:02or bites a toad
12:03will immediately receive
12:04a measure of poison
12:05hazardous to their health.
12:06The endurance of toads
12:08escalates the problem.
12:09They can withstand
12:10nearly any weather conditions
12:12and can breed anywhere.
12:13You can hear them croaking
12:15in tropical forests,
12:16coastal thickets,
12:17and even among dunes.
12:19They deal with
12:20cold temperatures and heat
12:21and eat everything
12:22in their path.
12:23They're not picky
12:24when it comes to food.
12:26Amphibians feed on
12:27live insects,
12:28carrion, and waste.
12:30But the most crucial problem
12:31is the speed
12:32of their reproduction.
12:34Female cane toads
12:35lay from 8 to 30,000 eggs
12:38twice a year.
12:39Within three days,
12:40tiny tadpoles
12:41hatch from the eggs.
12:42Bad weather conditions,
12:44predators,
12:45drought,
12:45and anything else
12:46can't stop them.
12:48People don't know
12:49what to do with them either.
12:50The only chance
12:51to save other animals
12:52is to teach them
12:53not to eat toads.
12:56Scientists cook sausages
12:58from cane toads
12:59with a small concentration
13:00of poison inside.
13:02They gave this food
13:03to monitor lizards,
13:04freshwater crocodiles,
13:06and other predators
13:06so they could recognize
13:08the taste of the toad.
13:09Animals were slightly poisoned
13:11by the toad's sausages
13:13and remember that
13:14anything with this smell
13:15was dangerous.
13:17Scientists hope
13:17they won't approach
13:18the toads
13:19after smelling them.
13:20Amphibians have destroyed
13:22most of the biodiversity
13:23in the northern part
13:24of the country,
13:25and now they're rapidly
13:26moving to western Australia.
13:28Scientists hope
13:29their plan saves animals,
13:31but what to do next?
13:32Perhaps nature
13:33can offer a solution
13:35to the problem.
13:35Some predatory animals
13:37may become immune
13:38to toad toxins,
13:39but it's unknown
13:40when this will happen.
13:43Invasive toads
13:44are quite a severe problem
13:45for ecology,
13:46but they look harmless.
13:47And how about
13:48invasive pythons?
13:50In the Everglades
13:51in Florida,
13:52Burmese pythons
13:53threaten the local wildlife.
13:56Giant crawling monsters
13:58have become
13:58the dominant species,
14:00displacing their alligator enemies
14:01from the swamps.
14:03Pythons hunt rabbits,
14:04possums,
14:05and other animals,
14:06decreasing their population
14:07by 99%.
14:09Of course,
14:10there are not as many pythons
14:11as toads,
14:12and people can get rid of them.
14:14But the problem
14:15is that they are
14:16exceptionally good
14:17at hiding.
14:18Even professional wildlife experts
14:20can't find them
14:21in the swamps and jungles.
14:22These pythons
14:23are also excellent hunters.
14:25They hide,
14:26wait,
14:26and attack,
14:27which makes them
14:28some of the most dangerous
14:29invasive creatures
14:30in the world.
14:30But fortunately,
14:32they don't attack people.
14:34Feral hogs
14:35are some of the most
14:36aggressive invasive species
14:38on Earth.
14:38They have razor-sharp teeth
14:40and mighty tusks.
14:42They're not afraid of anything
14:43and will attack
14:44even a human.
14:45These big,
14:46fast animals
14:47eat acorns,
14:48chestnuts,
14:49turtle eggs,
14:49turkey and quail eggs,
14:51trample plants,
14:52and strike terror
14:53into all creatures
14:54in the area.
14:56They can cause
14:57$1.5 billion
14:58in damage annually
15:00in 47 states.
15:01Imported in the U.S.
15:04several centuries ago,
15:05feral hogs
15:06have recently experienced
15:07a fertility splash.
15:09Local biologists
15:10and farmers
15:11are trying to solve
15:12the problem,
15:12but at the moment,
15:13it's pretty challenging
15:15to control
15:15the feral hog population.
15:18This tiny beetle
15:19seems harmless,
15:20but can cause
15:21orange juice
15:22to disappear
15:23in the U.S.
15:23This is the
15:24Asian citrus psyllid
15:26that loves
15:27to eat orange fruit.
15:28This insect
15:29contains bacteria
15:30that infects
15:31citrus trees
15:32and slowly
15:32destroys them.
15:34After getting infected,
15:35tree roots deform,
15:36oranges fall to the ground
15:38earlier than they're
15:39supposed to,
15:39and the tree
15:40slowly loses
15:41vital energy.
15:42The Asian citrus psyllid
15:44spreads in Florida,
15:45where about 80%
15:47of the country's
15:47orange juice
15:48is produced.
15:49Also,
15:50this parasite
15:50is found in Georgia,
15:51Texas,
15:52Louisiana,
15:53and California,
15:54the states
15:54where many lemons grow.
15:57So,
15:58we've seen
15:58invasive amphibians,
15:59reptiles,
16:00mammals,
16:01and insects.
16:01What about
16:02invasive birds?
16:03The European starling
16:05is a cute little bird,
16:06but it ceases to be so
16:08as soon as it joins
16:09a giant flock.
16:11Starlings gather
16:12in groups of
16:12hundreds and thousands,
16:14resembling
16:14massive black clouds.
16:16They fly to cities,
16:17villages,
16:18and harvest fields
16:19in search of food.
16:20Birds eat cattle feed
16:22and thus,
16:23create a lot of problems
16:24for farmers.
16:26This invasive insect
16:28doesn't threaten
16:29other animal species,
16:30doesn't spoil crops
16:31and trees,
16:32doesn't bite,
16:33and doesn't transport
16:34any infection.
16:35But its main problem
16:37is the unpleasant smell
16:38that it emits.
16:39There are so many
16:40brown,
16:41mammorated stink bugs
16:42in the U.S.
16:43that,
16:44most likely,
16:44some of them
16:45live in your house.
16:47If you've ever seen it,
16:48you probably remember
16:49that stinky smell.
16:51Thanks to this fragrance,
16:52stink bugs
16:53have almost no enemies,
16:55at least in America.
16:56But in China,
16:57their populations
16:58are controlled by wasps
16:59that use the back of bugs
17:01to lay eggs.
17:02There are no such wasps
17:04in the States,
17:04so stink bugs
17:06breed freely here.
17:08Now,
17:09let's talk about
17:09one of the most invasive
17:10plants in the world.
17:12This is giant hogweed.
17:14It secretes a poison
17:15that is activated
17:16when exposed to sunlight.
17:18The toxin can burn skin
17:19and destroy trees
17:20and plants
17:21growing around
17:22giant hogweed.
17:24From the outside,
17:25it may seem like
17:26a beautiful plant.
17:27It has a tall 15-foot stem
17:30with a beautiful
17:31white flower.
17:32But this plant
17:33gets rid of
17:33other vegetation
17:34around it.
17:35Giant hogweed
17:36releases its seeds,
17:37and a light breeze
17:39spreads them for miles.
17:40When new plants grow,
17:41they destroy
17:42any other plants
17:43living nearby.
17:44The problem is that
17:46giant hogweed
17:47has no enemies.
17:48Insect pests
17:49can't eat it
17:50because of its poison.
17:51Animals also avoid it.
17:52Well,
17:53maybe nature
17:54will create some bugs
17:55that will eat its leaves
17:56and thus restore the balance.
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