Cape honeybees, clever minds and why humans should pay attention

The Cape honeybee is best known for its role as an apex pollinator, but new research is shifting attention to something even more remarkable: its intelligence.

Speaking on CapeTalk ahead of his upcoming UCT Summer School lecture, veteran apiarist and former journalist Chris Nicklin unpacked why bees are far more than instinct-driven insects — and why understanding how they think matters for humans navigating environmental change.

A childhood fascination that became a life’s work

Nicklin’s relationship with bees began in childhood, growing up in what was then the rural outskirts of Constantia. Mesmerised by the rhythm of hive life, he went on to produce and sell honey as a teenager and later managed more than 100 hives, providing pollination services to apple farmers in Elgin.

That hands-on experience, he says, laid the foundation for a lifelong interest not only in beekeeping, but in how bees solve problems and adapt.

What makes the Cape honeybee unique

While honeybee intelligence is shared across species, the Cape honeybee — Apis mellifera capensis — stands out for a rare evolutionary trait.

In the event of a crisis, such as the loss of a queen, a female worker can lay a fertile egg capable of developing into a new queen. This phenomenon, known as thelytokous parthenogenesis, is unique to this subspecies and has made it a focus of global scientific interest.

Nicklin explains that the trait likely evolved in response to the Cape’s strong and unpredictable winds, which sometimes cause queens to fail to return from mating flights — leaving colonies to fend for themselves.

Bees, language and abstract thinking

Honeybees were the first non-human species whose communication system humans were able to decode, thanks to the work of Nobel Prize-winning scientist Karl von Frisch.

Through the waggle dance, bees share abstract information: distance, direction and quality of food sources, using landmarks as reference points. According to Nicklin, this ability places bees alongside humans as the only species known to communicate abstract concepts within their own kind.

That insight has sparked decades of research into where instinct ends and cognition begins.

Intelligence under threat from modern landscapes

Understanding bee intelligence isn’t academic curiosity, Nicklin argues — it’s essential for conservation.

Bees rely on trees, varied plant species and natural features as navigational ‘road maps’. As agriculture shifts toward large-scale monocultures and urban sprawl fragments green spaces, those maps disappear.

“When you remove forage and landmarks, bees quite literally lose their way,” he says.

Lessons from the hive: democracy in action

More recent research, popularised by biologist Tom Seeley in his book Honeybee Democracy, shows that bee colonies make collective decisions through a rigorous, participatory process.

When a swarm needs a new home, scout bees investigate sites, report back through dances, and gradually build consensus. No single bee dictates the outcome — a striking parallel to healthy democratic systems.

From the lecture hall to the hive

Nicklin will explore these themes in his lecture, Cape Honeybees: Cognitive Marvels, at UCT Summer School on Tuesday, 27 January. He is also co-hosting a hands-on apiary visit later in the week, giving participants the chance to work with bees and sample the Western Cape’s diverse honeys.

The message, he says, is simple: bees are not just indicators of ecological health — they are teachers. Ignoring what they reveal about intelligence, cooperation and adaptation comes at our own risk.

For more information, listen to Nicklin using the audio player below: