Bee Inventive
Photo by feverblue on flikr and used under this Creative Commons license.
This article describes a study from the Journal of Human Evolution that compares a complex tool set invented by chimpanzees to acquire honey with Stone Age human tools. It makes me wonder: If we went back far enough, did the common ancestors of humans and chimpanzees use tools to obtain honey or did this behaviour emerge separately in both species?
When you consider estimates that humans branched off from our common ancestor with chimpanzees 5–7 million years ago (source: Wikipedia) and that honey bees have been thriving for at least 40 million years, it is hypothesized that honey bees have been a major influence in shaping the evolution of the human species and societies (eg favouring tool use, feeding on honey bee pollinated foods, developing agriculture, etc). Vice-versa, with feral colonies disappearing at an alarming rate, the role of beekeepers with integrated pest management and the role of bee breeders in selecting honey bees for disease resistance, gentleness, honey production, hygienic behaviour, etc has probably never been more important, influencial, and essential in establishing the future of the honey bee.