Bees at Work: Watch How They Join Forces to Unscrew Soda Bottle

A new video originally posted on Twitter presents two bees at work seemingly unscrewing the orange lid of Fanta beverage to reach a sugary liquid inside the bottle.

In the present age of the so-called "digital trickery," a ScienceAlert report specified there is a need to be watchful that this could be "clever CGI," or probably, the bees certainly did join forces and work together, although tumbled an already loosely-perched bottle cap.

While everyone recognizes bees for their essentiality in the food chain as pollinators, these clever animals have a series of other skills like face recognition, math ability, and even tool use.

Either way, many find it enjoyable to think about whether these insects would have the brains to pull off such a soda raid.

The Viral Video

According to the video licensor, ViralHog, that acquired the footage, that particular moment was captured in Sao Paulo, Brazil, by a worker while on a break.

In the viral video's caption, the person wrote, he got a soda from a customer, but soon, the pair of bees "stole it."

In a related report, NDTV specified, what has been described as a smooth skill with which the pair of bees appeared to twist the cap off a soda bottle has mystified many people online, with some who even wonder how such intelligence exists in what's a very tiny brain.

As what has been learned in science in recent years, nonetheless, the size of the noggin of an animal is not everything.

For one thing, small animals have extremely less body mass for brain cells to rule, so naturally, they will need tinier brains.

Additionally, the complication of connections between neurons could be more essential for cognitive function.

Small-Brained Bumblebees

In the early 1960s, according to The Nobel Prize, a decade before he won the Nobel Prize for a study on bee communication, Karl von Frisch declared bumblebees were too small-brained to be able to think, putting their clever nature all down to hardwired character.

Since then, the question of how much the brain of a bee can handle has repeatedly been tried. Despite having a head the size of grass seed, approximately 0.000d percent the size of a human brain, bees have been proven to be surprisingly intelligent in recent studies.

Not only can bees learn from each other and use tools, but they also have mathematical skills too that they can count to zero and solve basic math equations.

However, the question is, how would such a small seed-sized calculator turn its problem-solving abilities into something as multifaceted as removing a lid from a soda bottle.

Detecting a Sweet Reward

Clearly, the bias of Frisch for large brains remains with the present time. While the zoologist admitted these insects could accomplish surprising intellectual achievements, he claimed they did so only through instinct, worsening when abruptly faced with unfamiliar responsibilities.

Essentially, unscrewing the cap of a sugary beverage is barely a job bees evolved to deal with in nature, and thus, von Frisch would be skeptical.

Possibly, the bees just got fortunate this time, detecting a sweet reward that drove them to wander rather thoughtlessly against a small resistance.

The two bees are shown on ViralHog's YouTube video below:

Check out more news and information on Bumblebees on Science Times.