Mathematics is the bane to a lot of people’s existence. Most people cannot get it, and the ones who do are deemed very smart. You might remember your friend in school who could do math with their eyes closed and then, there was you – the one who never got why mathematics was key to all the sciences and laws of the universe.
What would you do if you found out that other creatures might also be good at it? Recent discoveries by French and Australian researchers have found that honeybees can indeed add and subtract. The researchers were observing bees recognizing shapes with different colors and found them able to adapt to certain situations and solve simple math problems. The experiment allowed researchers to conclude that bees have intelligent brains and certain tasks allow their brains to evolve quickly.
The experiment included a container that had a Y-shaped entrance for bees. The three-sided entrance had a small hole that allowed the bees to proceed with the experiment. Once in, the bees would be presented with three colors that included blue, yellow and grey. The shapes of the background colors varied in size from 1 to 5 and certain calculations had to be made in order for the bees to proceed. Yellow represented addition and blue represented subtraction.
The reward that awaited the bees who got the calculation right was a little sugary solution. The ones who got the answer wrong were given negative reinforcement with Quinine, a compound used in tonic water that is known for its bitter taste. . 14 bees were used in the experiment with a total of 4 tests and 10 choices. The bees had a 50% chance t of finding the right answer each time. Despite a few wrong answers, the bees were able to get them right 65% of the time, which showed some form of intelligence present.
Mathematics requires both the short-term and long-term memory to be able to solve it. Bees having the capability to fathom such situations as opportunities to earn rewards seems like a brilliant way to teach them further. The scientists who conducted the experiment were amazed at the discovery, and their opinions about mathematics and 
other creatures have surely been reformed. Since the universe is a giant mathematical maze, other creatures are bound to be entangled in it one way or another.
The point here is that you don’t need a big brain like Einstein’s to solve math. Even a smaller one can do simple calculations, provided that it is taught how to. Will bees discover newer formulas? We’ll leave that for the future to decide.
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