Bees are not merely mindless, mechanical insects with rigid
behavior patterns. They may actually exhibit personalities and
feelings. A new study from the University of Illinois reveals
that some bees display a higher willingness to head off on
adventures than others, which can be interpreted as a
personality trait, reports Wired UK. When the hive needs a new
nest, around 5% of the bees will embark on a search. These same
scouts are much more likely to go on hunts for food. Researchers
studied the brains of these bees versus the ones who stayed home
and found features of a brain-reward system that parallels the
one inside a human brain. “In humans, differences in novelty-
seeking are a component of personality," says an entomologist.
"It looks like the same molecular pathways have been engaged
repeatedly in evolution to give rise to individual differences
in novelty-seeking."