We look at individual humans as pretty smart; but then the collective intelligence of a human city as pretty dim. We see individual bees as pretty dim; but perceive intelligence and agency in the swarm.
Many species of bee live individually or in small groups. Are Carpenter bee tribes searching for the secret of fire? They're certainly industrious enough.
What would bees use fire for? Humans used it to create more edible food, for metallurgy, generate warmth, etc. I'm not sure if bees would need that, since honey is energy dense, they have built in weapons, and they sort of hibernate in the cold. And they don't have the ability to stoke and generate fire do they, human hands and cognition are useful fire tenders.
Maybe given millions of years of further evolution, bees or ants could become more capable in their culture?
Many species of bee live individually or in small groups. Are Carpenter bee tribes searching for the secret of fire? They're certainly industrious enough.