Why a bumble’s best at getting from A to bee

THEY are not known for their large brains, or their skill at using a satnav. If you want to find the quickest route to your destination, however, you could do worse than to copy a bumblebee.

A study has found they are able to work out the fastest and straightest path to reach nectar and pollen. They do this by learning from experience and constantly finessing their route.

So if they take what seems like a shortcut but actually ends up increasing their journey, they manage to correct their mistake next time.

Scientists at Queen Mary University of London recorded the flight of bees to test if they could solve the mathematical conundrum known as the Travelling Salesman Problem.

Professor Lars Chittka, co-ordinator of the study, said: ‘Imagine a salesman from London who needs to call at Manchester, Leeds, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Inverness before returning home.

‘From Manchester it is tempting to make the short trip across to Leeds, and from Glasgow it is tempting to visit Edinburgh, but a salesman who does that will soon find themselves stranded in Inverness with a very long drive home.

‘The better solution is to travel up one side of the UK and return down the other.’

The team studied six bumblebees making 201 flights, says the journal Scientific Reports. They found bees reduce their flight distance as they gain experience. Lead researcher Dr Joe Woodgate said: ‘They explore the landscape, discovering locations one by one, and then they face the challenge of integrating their spatial memories into an efficient route.’