
Two individually marked bumble bees are shown in a tunnel used for affective contagion experiments. Bees that briefly interacted with conspecifics in a positive affective state in this tunnel later showed more optimistic responses to ambiguous flowers. The discovery shows that even insects can share affective states, tracing the roots of affect and social cognition deep into evolution. Learn more in a 2025 issue of Science for #WorldBeeDay: scim.ag/3JaoOVN


















