Every time I read a new article about bees it makes me realize just how little we understand biological intelligence. Today’s find: bees can distinguish split-second flashes of light, revealing surprising timing abilities and advanced cognitive flexibility.
You’re describing your dog’s circadian rhythm, or day-night cycle, which is how he knows what time of day it is. The article is suggesting something even more advanced than that, that bees have an internal “stopwatch” which allows them to detect very short durations on the order of seconds. Mammals also have abilities along the same lines, but it’s a lot more impressive for an insect since they’re so compact and simple - on the surface - and don’t seem to have the complexity and scale of brain circuitry mammals do, at least as far as we understand.