Bees expect the worst

When people are in a bad mood, they become pessimistic and expect the worst. Bees feel the same way.

A bad mood makes bees less adventurous, according to a team of English scientists. In an experiment, the scientists subjected the bees to unpleasant shaking, subsequently measuring a major reduction in the quantity of happiness hormones in the insects’ brains. In other words, the shaking put the bees in a persistint state of distress, which meant that they were less likely to visit flowers with a suspicious smell than other bees were.

So, the scientists concluded that – like humans – bees can become affected by a sensation similar to pessimism.