27 ms·

Bees are dead stupid, though. They have varroa mites sucking their juices and don't even do anything about it. That's like if half your family had cat-sized vam

Bees are dead stupid, though. They have varroa mites sucking their juices and don't even do anything about it. That's like if half your family had cat-sized vampires stuck to their sides and you all went about your business as usual. "Hey Mom, how are you doing? You look pale. Must be that fat vampire that's been sucking your blood this past week. I have one too now, though - looks kinda cool! Oh well, gotta go, see ya!" And whole bee hives actually get destroyed by those mites. Arrgh. So don't talk about the intelligence of those buggers. They're brain-dead where it matters.

istorical 7y ago
That's a fun visual and I never knew about it, but can't help but immediately think about the 'Hey Mom! How are you doing? You look obese. Your arteries are completely clogged.' analogy of self-destruction in humans, even though it's not a great comparison. But I think aliens or a higher power or some more evolved species would look at many things humans do - or don't do - and think we're brain dead. I think it's about the idea that blindspots are obvious to everyone but the being with that particular blindspot.
- murukesh_s 7y ago
  That's true, but I don't think we have to wait for Aliens, may be within couple of decades we gonna think how stupid we are to overdose on sugar and sugary drinks.
  - testuser66 7y ago
    > within couple of decades We already do.
fiblye 7y ago
Humans had fleas, ticks, and rats on and around them for millennia. It took us quite a while to finally start to get kind of good at eliminating them, but now ticks are on the rise again and now we’re actively researching cures for every disease known to rat-kind and breeding them to be invincible to everything.
- LessDmesg 7y ago
  The difference is that varroa mites are much larger relative to a bee, and are on the bodies of both adults and larvae. And the beehive has lots of bees whose jobs are cleaning the hive and greeting the bees returning from flight. And the mites aren't known for excreting some magic pheromones like other, less harmful beehive parasites do. So there really is no excuse for bees to fall prey to these mites. I've read that some ants actively fight and remove parasitic flies trying to land on and infest them, so insects are definitely capable of this kind of self-protection. It's just specifically bees that do not have the genes, and cannot learn this behavior. Which proves their intelligence is severely limited.

istorical 7y ago

That's a fun visual and I never knew about it, but can't help but immediately think about the 'Hey Mom! How are you doing? You look obese. Your arteries are completely clogged.' analogy of self-destruction in humans, even though it's not a great comparison. But I think aliens or a higher power or some more evolved species would look at many things humans do - or don't do - and think we're brain dead. I think it's about the idea that blindspots are obvious to everyone but the being with that particular blindspot.

murukesh_s 7y ago
That's true, but I don't think we have to wait for Aliens, may be within couple of decades we gonna think how stupid we are to overdose on sugar and sugary drinks.
- testuser66 7y ago
  > within couple of decades We already do.

fiblye 7y ago

Humans had fleas, ticks, and rats on and around them for millennia. It took us quite a while to finally start to get kind of good at eliminating them, but now ticks are on the rise again and now we’re actively researching cures for every disease known to rat-kind and breeding them to be invincible to everything.

LessDmesg 7y ago
The difference is that varroa mites are much larger relative to a bee, and are on the bodies of both adults and larvae. And the beehive has lots of bees whose jobs are cleaning the hive and greeting the bees returning from flight. And the mites aren't known for excreting some magic pheromones like other, less harmful beehive parasites do. So there really is no excuse for bees to fall prey to these mites. I've read that some ants actively fight and remove parasitic flies trying to land on and infest them, so insects are definitely capable of this kind of self-protection. It's just specifically bees that do not have the genes, and cannot learn this behavior. Which proves their intelligence is severely limited.