Learning in Honeybees

University Of Hawaii, Honolulu

Investigators

Abstract

Learning in honeybees M.E. Bitterman & Patricia A. Couvillon Although invertebrates comprise more than 95% of all animal species, there has been little systematic study of their learning. To remedy that deficiency has been the goal of this ongoing research with the honeybee -- a highly-evolved invertebrate, readily available in large numbers, and of great economic importance, whose sensory, motor, and motivational properties are unusually well-suited to the purpose. The experiments are done primarily with free-flying foragers that are trained to come to a laboratory window for sucrose solution varying in amount and concentration. Despite the remoteness of the evolutionary relationship and the vast disparities in brain size and structure, the experiments show some striking similarities in the performance of honeybees and vertebrates. The similarities may reflect the operation of common learning principles, although some very interesting differences also have been found which invite further study, and the main concerns of this grant period are with those differences. Experiments in three major areas are planned: risk-sensitivity in foraging choices, learning about nonreward, and short-term memory. The work is expected to contribute to the further development of a rigorous, quantitative theory of learning in honeybees, as well to as our basic understanding of intelligence and its evolution.