7. If You Swat, Watch Out: Bees Remember Faces

Source:

Bhanoo S. If You Swat, Watch Out: Bees Remember Faces
. The New York Times [Internet]. 2010 Feb 1 [cited 2010 Feb 06]. Available from: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/02/science/02bees.html?ref=science

Bees can distinguish faces similar to how humans can. Although they have only a million neurons, they can use configural processing similar to humans. They can recognize facial patterns like placement of nose, mouth, eyes, and ears. Dr. Giurfa conducted an experiment that tested bees’ facial recognition abilities. He placed pictures of faces with bowls filled with sugar and plain water. The bees were able to distinguish the faces associated with sugar and the faces associated with plain water. This research is important to computer science because it shows how simple facial recognition can be. The knowledge can be applied to computers systems. Although it can recognize basic structures it cannot distinguish other factors like human cans. If someone grows out their hair, a computer or a bee cannot recognize the face, however, a human can still recognize the face. Although, the research cannot be applied directly, it gives more insight on how face recognition works.