Bumblebees have demonstrated an impressive ability that scientists once believed was limited to humans and other animals with much larger brains. In a new study, insects successfully completed a completely unfamiliar object manipulation task even though they were never taught how to solve it.
The findings challenge the long-held belief that spontaneous problem solving is exclusive to humans and other large-brained vertebrates.
More than a century ago, psychologist Wolfgang Köhler showed that chimpanzees could suddenly solve unfamiliar problems by combining objects in new ways, such as stacking boxes to reach a banana hanging overhead. Those experiments became classic examples of perception and spontaneous problem solving in animals.
Now, researchers from the University of Oulu, the University of Helsinki and the University of Turku in Finland have found comparable abilities in bumblebees.
Bumblebees solved a new challenge
The study, published in Sciencetested bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) with a problem they had never encountered before.
First, the bees learned that a blue artificial flower contained a reward. During the experiment, the researchers moved that flower to the roof of a transparent arena, placing it out of reach of the bees.
To get the reward, the bees had to find a completely new solution. The successful individuals rolled a small ball under the flower and then climbed onto it, a sequence of actions they had never been trained to do.
“This is essentially an insect version of the classic ‘box and banana’ problem,” says lead author Olli Loukola, a professor at the University of Oulu. “The animal must realize that an object can be repositioned and then used as a tool to achieve an otherwise inaccessible goal. What stands out about the result is that this type of spontaneous problem solving is now demonstrated in an insect.”
“What makes this behavior especially notable is that the bees had never been trained to roll the ball. This was a completely new challenge. Their behavior appeared goal-directed and successful individuals showed more directed movement patterns,” says lead author Akshaye Bhambore from the University of Oulu.
Control experiments ruled out simpler explanations
The bees were never taught to move the ball under the flower. Instead, they learned beforehand only two different things: that the blue flower provided a reward and that the ball was a harmless, moving object.
When faced with the new challenge, many of the bees combined those previous experiences in a way that went beyond anything they had previously learned.
“Another important aspect is that our bees were totally naive,” adds Loukola. “In many previous insight-type problem-solving studies, animals have had extensive experience with objects, test environments, or other problem-solving tasks. Here, the bees had never been trained to use the ball to reach the flower, and had no prior experience with this type of solution. We also designed the experiments to rule out simpler explanations such as accidental success, play behavior, trial-and-error learning, or direct visual guidance.”
The researchers also conducted several control experiments to eliminate alternative explanations, including accidental success and simple visual guidance.
In some of the more demanding tests, the flower remained hidden from view while the bees moved the ball. That prevented them from simply heading towards a visible target. Still, many bees got the ball rolling to the right place.
“By analyzing the bees’ behavior through unusually strict control experiments, we were able to show that they were not simply reacting to visual stimuli or moving the ball randomly,” says lead author Bhambore.
Tiny brains show remarkable flexibility
Watching the bees solve the challenge surprised even the scientists conducting the experiments.
“One moment the animal is exploring seemingly directionlessly, and the next it performs a highly efficient sequence of actions that leads directly to the solution,” says co-author Ece Nur Akmeşe from the University of Helsinki. “Watching the bees solve the task was really fascinating.”
The new findings add to growing evidence that bees possess sophisticated cognitive abilities despite their tiny brains. Previous studies have shown that bees can socially learn to use tools, solve puzzle-like tasks, cooperate with each other, and adapt their behavior to changing situations.
The researchers stress, however, that these results should not be interpreted as evidence that insects think like humans or possess human-like consciousness.
“We are not trying to make bees think like humans,” says Loukola, who currently works as a senior researcher at the University of Turku. “But our findings show that miniature brains can generate flexible solutions to novel problems in ways we are only beginning to understand.”
Overall, the results suggest that spontaneous goal-directed problem solving can emerge even in animals with brains much smaller than those of the vertebrates that have traditionally been studied in intelligence research.
“For more than a century, spontaneous object-based problem solving has been studied primarily in vertebrates,” says Loukola. “Our study suggests that insects may also belong in that conversation.”
The study, titled “Spontaneous problem solving in bumblebees,” by Akshaye A. Bhambore, Ece N. Akmeşe, Emma Häkkinen, Milla K. Jussila, Juha-Heikki Kantola and Olli J. Loukola, was published on June 4, 2026 in the journal Science.