Which animal would make the best spy? Perhaps pigeons would be a good candidate – they have the relevant experience , after all. Maybe a parrot or cockatoo – they can literally tell you what they’ve overheard, which is surely an advantage. Dogs are intelligent (sometimes pathologically so ) and famously loyal, both good qualities for an operative; rats can blend in like nothing else , as well as being community-minded , good learners , and willing to drive . The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.

There are, in other words, plenty of potential candidates. But a new study presents an alternative contender: the humble bumble.

“We wanted to find out if bumblebees could learn the difference between […] different

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