Australian research finds honey bees ability to learn new languages

Scientists have long debated whether different honey bee species, who use an elaborate bum-wiggle to communicate with their peers, could understand each other.

    The interpretive dances, made up of bottom movements of varying speeds and patterns, are basically travel advice from one bee to another, telling them how to navigate their way to an established food source.

    Australian researchers set to work, breeding and then combining Asian and European bees into a single colony.

    Using video camera footage, the scientists discovered that after a period of time, both were eventually able to decode each other's bottom signals.

    "It was as if they were speaking different dialects about the same things, then, after a time, it became clear that the Asian bees were able to decode the dances of the European bees," said Shaowu Zhang of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Vision Science, Kazinform cites Xinhua. See www.chinaview.cn for full version.