6 Important Life Lessons we can learn from bees

 

Bees and humans are more connected to each other than we may think. The biggest link between man and bees is that we depend on each other for survival. But that´s not all! There are 6 important life lessons we can learn from bees.

Did you know that bees have almost half (10,000) as many genes as the human (20,000) genome? Scientists also discovered that the brain of a bee mirrors universal principles of human brain functions. But even without being a scientist we can all learn 6 important life lessons from our honey bees:

Teamwork

• Honeybees work together putting the needs of the colony before their own needs.
• Humans often think they can do things alone but in reality we all truly depend on each other!

Equality & Justice

• If a honeybee gets punished, it’s the same severity for all ‘ranks’, whether it’s a worker bee or a queen bee. The queen bee and male bees may have a few privileges, but they pay a hefty price for them. If they ‘misbehave’ or are unable to carry out their jobs they get killed or cast out from the hive.

• Humans like to think of themselves as being fair, but in reality they are not and neither is justice. It often comes down to power, money, status or fame.

Democracy

• Honeybees make decisions collectively as a democracy. The queen doesn’t rule over everyone. A group makes decisions like looking for a new nest; all others undisputedly accepted their choice.

• Humans have tried various forms of leadership worldwide but rarely achieve undisputed acceptance.

Caring

• Bees care for each other and help each other. If something attacks a bee, the others try and help, even if it means their own life are at stake. They selflessly share the food they collect with all others in the colony.
• Humans can grow much faster and live a lot more comfortably if they help each other and put selfishness and greed aside.

Responsibility

• Bees have a specific role in their colony and they carry it out, no if’s or but’s.
• As humans we can learn that everyone plays a role in society, no matter how important or unimportant we think this role is.

Memory

• Bees have an extraordinary memory. They always find their way home by identifying reference points they remember. Scientists also found out that bees have basic mathematical skills and can even recognize individual human faces.

• Humans use lists and electronic devices to remember things, so who is more advanced? The lesson humans should learn from this is that we need to understand and accept that we are not necessarily superior to animal species in everything.