Humans have long wondered why we seek each other’s company. From laughter in groups to quiet conversations, social behavior defines much of our daily lives. It turns out, this drive to connect may not be uniquely human at all.

Honey bees, buzzing inside their hives, show genetic patterns that echo our own. A new study suggests that some of the molecular roots of sociability stretch back hundreds of millions of years.

Social differences in species

Not every individual interacts the same way. In any society, whether insect or human, some thrive on connection while others keep to themselves. These differences can arise from mood, past experiences, or status. Genetics also play a role, but the exact mechanisms remain poorly understood.

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign sought to explore this mystery in honey bees, combining cutting-edge molecular techniques with detailed behavioral tracking.

The study adds clarity to how social behaviors can emerge from shared evolutionary blueprints.

Social lives of bees

The team studied western honey bees, attaching tiny barcodes to 357 individuals. Automated systems recorded their movements and behaviors inside observation hives. The scientists focused on a key social act called trophallaxis, where bees share nutritious liquid with nestmates.

This act of food-sharing reflects social connectedness in colonies. Sequencing revealed 18 genetic variants tied to this behavior, several within two genes, neuroligin-2 and nmdar2. These genes resemble human ones linked to autism spectrum conditions, highlighting intriguing parallels between species.

The discovery strengthens the view that certain behaviors may be deeply embedded in biology across evolutionary lines.

Genes and brain activity

The researchers also examined brain activity. Bees that engaged more with nestmates showed higher expression of more than 900 genes.

This connection between behavior and brain biology highlights the depth of social influences at the molecular level. Additional analyses revealed that many of these genes were tied to neural signaling and synaptic function.

In other words, the wiring of the brain directly supports how social tendencies emerge. This demonstrates how behavioral complexity is not only observed at the surface level but is tightly bound to internal molecular processes.

Shared social origins in bees

The study shows that humans and bees diverged over 600 million years ago, yet still retain similarities in genes related to sociability. The researchers suggest that these conserved features act as molecular anchors, shaping social life across distant species.

The experts argue that the repeated use of the same molecular pathways across evolution suggests an ancient toolkit for sociality that species can adapt in unique ways.

“It is a central feature of all societies that group members often engage with one another, but vary in their tendency to do so,” noted the researchers.

“Combining automated monitoring of social interactions, DNA sequencing, and brain transcriptomics in honey bee colonies, we identified evolutionarily conserved molecular roots of sociability shared across phylogenetically distinct species, including humans.”

Behavior of social insects

“Social insects are ideal for whole-colony behavioral tracking, and the technology is such that we can monitor what each bee is doing throughout the majority of her life,“ explained study lead author Ian Traniello.

“In this study, we sought to push things a step forward, thinking, ‘We can follow all of these animals, we know who they’re socially engaging via food-sharing interactions, we know how they move and where they spend their time.'”

According to Traniello, honey bees offer a powerful model because their molecular toolkit continues to expand, enabling researchers to study behavior alongside genomic and neural patterns.

“The honey bee molecular toolkit is vast and growing, and we can also explore the structure of the genome or gene expression patterns within the brain as they relate to variation in social interactivity,” said Tranielo.

“We asked: ‘How can we bring these technologies together, to ask general questions about the molecular underpinnings of social organization and test the hypothesis that some of these features might be conserved across species?’ And that’s exactly what we did.”

Bees’ lasting social legacy

This research highlights more than just bee behavior. It suggests that sociability, whether in a bustling hive or a human community, may be rooted in ancient genetic frameworks.

Theories proposed in the study emphasize that evolution often reuses molecular strategies to solve similar challenges across life forms. In this case, it has shaped how groups organize, interact, and depend on one another.

Such findings invite broader questions about how deeply genetics shape our social tendencies, and whether these ancient molecular roots still guide how humans build networks, friendships, and societies.

By studying tiny pollinators, scientists are uncovering links that show how evolution has preserved the tools for social life across species separated by vast spans of time.

The study is published in the journal PLOS Biology.

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