A tiny cousin to the human brain

Just like in humans, insects’ memory, motions, and senses are controlled by separate brain centres.

With a size of only 1 cubic mm, insect brains are smaller than a pinhead. But in spite of its tiny volume, a bee brain contains 960,000 nerve cells and can carry out 100 billion calculations per second – comparable to the fastest supercomputers of 2005. In recent years, scientists have discovered that the tiny brains contain a number of specialised centres that carry out the very same tasks as centres in the human brain.

Just like a human brain, a bee brain is made up of several centres with different functions.