In the latest test of the tiny workings of bumblebee minds, scientists have taught the fuzzy insects to tell the difference between patterns of light – a kind of simplified Morse code – to find a sugary treat.

It's the first demonstration that Bombus terrestris can make decisions about where to forage based solely on the duration of a visual cue. This means that bumblebees can process temporal information , much like vertebrates can – an ability that could mean the difference between life and death, out in the wild world.

"We wanted to find out if bumblebees could learn the difference between these different durations, and it was so exciting to see them do it," says behavioral scientist Alex Davidson of Queen Mary University of London in the UK.

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