Lots of animals play. But the behavior is best known in mammals (哺乳动物) and birds. Now the scientists at London’s Queen Mary University report that bumblebees (大黄蜂) know the same thing. But before this, there were no reports of insects playing.
Dr. Lars Chittka began to wonder if bumblebees played during an earlier test. In that test, Chittka guided bumblebees to move balls into a goal for food. He noticed that some bees were rolling (滚动) balls even when they weren’t given food. He wondered if they were playing.
To test the idea, the scientists at his lab set up a new test. First, they numbered 45 young bumblebees between one and 23 days old. The numbers let them follow bumblebees’ behavior. Then, they set up a clear pathway from the bumblebees’ home to a feeding area. On either side of the open pathway, the researchers placed small colored wooden balls. On one side of the path, the balls couldn’t move. On the other side, the balls could roll around. For three hours a day, over 18 days, the scientists opened the pathway between the home and the feeding area. The bumblebees never had to leave the pathway to find food, but they left anyway. They weren’t interested in the side where the balls didn’t move, but they made lots of visits to the side with the rolling balls.
Catching the balls with their legs, the bees would move their wings to pull on the balls, causing them to roll. The 45 numbered bumblebees did this 910 times during the test. Though some only did it once, others did it a lot. The younger ones liked to spend more time rolling balls while the older ones showed less interest in it. One bee was recorded rolling balls 44 times in a single day. One was seen rolling balls 117 times over the whole test.
The test raises important questions about how the insects’ minds work and whether they have feelings.
【小题1】What did Chittka want to do about bumblebees in the earlier test?| A．Discover if they played. | B．Train them to move balls. |
| C．Make them learn to relax. | D．Find out if they’d share food. |
| A．They named each of them. | B．They let them interested in balls. |
| C．They had all of them go hungry. | D．They marked them one by one. |
| A．They held their attention for longer. | B．They understood simpler numbers. |
| C．They were less active in rolling balls. | D．They helped the young pull on balls. |
| A．Bumblebees Are First Insects Known to Play |
| B．Two Tests Prove Bumblebees Expect to Play |
| C．Bumblebees Are the World’s Smartest Insects |
| D．Scientists Make Bumblebees Work for Them |
