Bees solve the complex Travelling Salesman Problem with their tiny brains.
Scientists at Queen Mary, University of London and Royal Holloway, University of London have discovered that bees learn to fly the shortest possible route between flowers even if they discover the flowers in a different order.
The Travelling Salesman must find the shortest route that allows him to visit all locations on his route. Computers solve it by comparing the length of all possible routes and choosing the shortest using complicated algorithms.
Studying how bee brains solve such challenging tasks might allow us to identify the minimal neural circuitry required for complex problem solving.
We rely on networks such as traffic on the roads, information flow on the web and business supply chains. By understanding how bees can solve their problem with such a tiny brain we can improve our management of these everyday networks without needing lots of computer time.
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