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March 2025
The Sun InterviewBy Mark LevitonHive MindLars Chittka on the Surprising Brainpower of Bees

Chittka: For me, understanding the minds of bees and other animals inspires a new respect for nature. Many conservation efforts—and there are a lot of people trying to rescue what’s left of the natural world—are motivated by the utility of these animals. This is especially the case with bees and insects. Many people are aware that bees are in trouble and that we ought to do something to help them, because they pollinate our crops. Many fruits and vegetables depend on bees’ pollination services: for example, melons, tomatoes, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, zucchini, pumpkins, cherries, cucumbers, squash, apples, and citrus fruits.
But that approach can’t work overall. If you’re really trying to protect nature, then it’s a complete package with many species, including annoying ones like wasps. So in addition to the utility argument, we must recognize that many of the animals around us are likely sentient—and thus quite possibly capable of experiencing the deterioration of their habitats. This creates a responsibility for us to do something about it.
Readers WriteBy Our ReadersChores
On a solo backpacking trip, in a desert military base, at a church revival

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News & Notes

Featured Selections

More selections on race

We’ve gathered additional selections about race from <em>The Sun</em>’s archive. They are all freely available for anyone to read and share.

July 17, 2020

Featured Selections

We’ve gathered selections from The Sun’s archive that examine white supremacy, systemic racism, mass incarceration, police brutality, and other related issues. They are all freely available for anyone to read and share. We will highlight more from our archive in the coming days.

June 5, 2020

Featured Selections

National Short Story Month: Staff Selections

For National Short Story Month, we hope you’ll enjoy these fiction selections from The Sun’s archive. We’ve lifted our paywall during this period of isolation, so please feel free to share them with others.

May 14, 2020

Featured Selections

Songs from Erin McReynolds’s Essay “Train Songs”

Erin McReynolds’s essay “Train Songs” appears in our February 2020 issue, and we thought readers might appreciate hearing the songs she mentions in the piece.

February 18, 2020

Featured Selections