Numeracy

The Surprising Maths That Animals Use

Hermit Crabs

Hermit Crabs line up in order from smallest to largest to trade and upsize their shells. The biggest gets the new shell and each one going down the line steps into the one in front! 

What’s the Math? Ordering by size. 

Ants

Some ants leave a chemical trail when they move, other ants live in places where trails are easily seen. For other ants, they actually count their steps when they leave their nest to find food! This way, they can count their steps back to find their nest again.

What’s the Math? Counting.

Bees

Bees form honeycomb with hexagon shapes. Hexagon tesselaye fit together with no gaps so using hexagons enables bees to be efficient with the space and hold the most amount of honey they can. 

What’s the Math? Tessellations – a pattern of shapes, with no gaps and no overlays that repeats in all directions.