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Published on: December 12, 2012
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Accelerated behavioural development changes fine-scale search behaviour and spatial memory in honey bees (Apis
Tomokazu Ushitani1, Clint J Perry2, Ken Cheng3
1Department of Cognitive and Information Sciences, Faculty of Letters, Chiba University, 1-33 Yayoi-cho, Inage, Chiba 263-8522, Japan.
The Journal of Experimental Biology
|November 25, 2015
Summary
Young honey bees foraging early due to stress show deficits in spatial memory, unlike older bees. This suggests cognitive development continues in adult bees, impacting foraging success and survival.
Area of Science:
- Animal Behavior
- Neuroscience
- Ecology
Background:
- Worker honey bees (Apis mellifera) typically start foraging at over two weeks old.
- Stress can induce precocious foraging in younger bees.
- Previous research focused on cognitive decline in older foragers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate cognitive differences between precocious and normal-aged honey bee foragers.
- To determine if accelerated behavioral development impacts learning and memory.
Main Methods:
- Generated precocious foragers using social manipulation in small colonies.
- Assessed cognitive performance using a visual reversal learning task.
- Evaluated spatial memory by training bees to locate a feeder among landmarks.
Main Results:
- Precocious and normal-aged foragers performed similarly in visual reversal learning.
- A significant difference in spatial memory was observed between the two groups.
- Normal-aged foragers demonstrated superior ability to infer spatial relationships.
Conclusions:
- Honey bee cognitive abilities continue to develop during the adult stage.
- Precocious foragers exhibit a cognitive deficit, particularly in spatial memory.
- These cognitive limitations may explain poor foraging performance and higher loss rates in precocious foragers.
