Bumblebees Show Facial Expressions Linked to Taste Preference, Hinting at Inner Experience

Researchers filmed buff-tailed bumblebees from 18 colonies with high-speed cameras while the insects drank droplets of plain, sweet, salty or bitter water. After ingesting sugary solutions the bees repeatedly extended and retracted their glossas (tongue-like mouthparts), a motion the authors likened to lip-licking. In contrast, salty or bitter liquids provoked head-shaking, mouth-wiping and retreat. When bees were dehydrated by warming them to 104 °F, they performed the glossa-licking motion even for salty water, suggesting the response depends on internal need rather than a fixed chemical reflex. Manipulating brain chemistry with dopamine-like compounds increased the bees’ eagerness for sugar, while an endocannabinoid reduced motivation but amplified the positive facial response when sugar was finally consumed.

Smithsonian Magazine

The team, led by Fei Peng of Southern Medical University and Andrew Barron of Macquarie University, argue the behaviors reflect “liking” versus “wanting” states similar to those described in mammals. They caution that the motions could still be reflexes, but the modulation by hydration status and neurochemicals points to evaluative processing rather than simple stimulus-response loops. The authors suggest facial movements may serve as observable markers of an insect’s internal valuation of experiences.

Bumblebees Have Feelings Too. What Else Have We Got Wrong About Insects?

The authors acknowledge that the study does not prove bumblebees experience pleasure or disgust in the human sense. They frame the results as evidence that bees assign positive or negative value to stimuli, not as confirmation of conscious emotion.

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• “Many people are comfortable saying that insects can sense, learn and make decisions,” — Fei Peng, bee cognition researcher, Southern Medical University

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• “Our findings push on that intuition.” — Fei Peng, bee cognition researcher, Southern Medical University

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• “What this is showing us is that even from an animal like a bee, there is some sort of inner life for that insect,” — Andrew Barron, neuroethologist, Macquarie University

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• “There’s something going on. It’s evaluating its world. It’s experiencing its world, and it’s not a robotic entity running on a program.” — Andrew Barron, neuroethologist, Macquarie University

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