I am positively surprised by the recent research showing that bees may have emotions, dreams, and even PTSD, which could have a profound impact on our understanding of these insects’ lives and their treatment. The findings, as reported in The Guardian, suggest that bees may have complex feelings resembling optimism, frustration, playfulness, and fear, traits commonly associated with mammals. The research could lead to a significant ethical reckoning with how we treat bees, which are critical to agriculture, with approximately one-third of the American diet, including many fruits, vegetables, and nuts, relying on bees for pollination.
This work, pioneered by scientists such as Stephen Buchmann, is forcing us to reconsider the mechanized approach to pollination that makes no allowances for the emotional lives of bees. Bees are self-aware, sentient, and possibly have a primitive form of consciousness, according to Buchmann, who has studied bees for over 40 years. The research has radically changed how he relates to bees, significantly reducing lethal and insensitive treatment of specimens for his research.
The new findings have also raised practical and existential quandaries. Can large-scale agriculture and scientific research continue without causing bees to suffer, and is our dominant culture capable of accepting that even the tiniest of creatures have feelings, too? As the evidence supporting insect sentience offers clues to what may be driving “colony collapse disorder,” we need to find ways to mass-produce crops while reducing pain and suffering for bees.
While some agricultural operations have tried to improve the survival rate for bees by reducing pesticide use and planting more diverse forage beyond a single crop, Buchmann wants a solution that addresses the root cause by changing industrial agricultural practices to be more bee-friendly so there is no need to put sensors in hives. The reason for creating a world where bees can be happy is much bigger than the human need for crop pollination. It is a wholly new aspect of how weird and wonderful the world is around us, and I look forward to seeing how this research develops in the future.
Max-Leonhard von Schaper 