We all know the English saying "as busy as a bee," but we don't know how bees play. Scientists found a way that bees might relax after a busy day making honey. The scientists did different tests on bees playing with different things. The bees liked playing with small balls. The bees played a little like humans. Younger bees played with more balls than older bees. Adult males played with balls for longer than females did. Bees are the first known insects to "play".
The scientists did tests on 45 bumblebees. The bees had two options. One was to go straight to a sugary treat. The second was to get to the treat after going around coloured wooden balls. Most of the bees played with the balls first. A researcher said: "Bees are a million miles from the…unfeeling creatures they are traditionally believed to be." She added that there are strong signs to show that insect minds are a lot more advanced than we thought.
Try the same news story at these levels:
Bees and Balls - Level 0, Bees and Balls - Level 2 or Bees and Balls - Level 3
Sources- https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/oct/27/bumblebees-playing-wooden-balls-bees-study
- https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ball-rolling-bumble-bees-just-wanna-have-fun/
- https://www.science.org/content/article/are-these-bumble-bees-playing-toys
Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)