Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

What is Behavior?00:54

What is Behavior?

9.0K
Behaviors are actions that an organism engages in—they can be related to finding food, reproducing, defending against threats, and many other possible actions. Behaviors include activities related to the environment around the animal—such as migration—as well as social interactions within a species or population. Many behaviors involve motor output—that is, muscle movements—while others involve less visible actions, such as learning.
9.0K
Altruism01:03

Altruism

41.2K
Altruistic behaviors are “unselfish” behaviors—those that help another individual at the expense of the individual carrying out the behavior. Despite the negative consequences for the altruistic animal, these behaviors are thought to have evolved for several reasons.
41.2K
Fixed Action Patterns01:06

Fixed Action Patterns

16.1K
A fixed action pattern (FAP) is a specific, hard-wired sequence of behaviors that occurs in response to an external stimulus, called a sign stimulus. The behavior is “fixed” because it is essentially unchangeable—proceeding similarly across individuals of a species every time it occurs.
16.1K
Inclusive Fitness00:57

Inclusive Fitness

36.1K
Most altruistic behavior—in which one animal helps another at a cost to themselves—occurs between relatives. Scientists think these altruistic behaviors evolved because they increase the inclusive fitness of the animal providing help.
36.1K
Nonconscious Mimicry01:13

Nonconscious Mimicry

4.6K
Nonconscious mimicry occurs when individuals alter their mannerisms to match the behaviors and expressions of those nearby, without intention.
4.6K
Instinctive Drift01:05

Instinctive Drift

254
Instinctive drift refers to the tendency of animals to revert to their innate behaviors despite repeated reinforcement. Breland and Breland demonstrated this concept in an experiment with a raccoon. The raccoon was trained to pick up two coins and place them in a container in exchange for food. Initially, the raccoon learned to associate the coins with food, making them a conditioned stimulus or a substitute for food. However, over time, the raccoon became less willing to put the coins into the...
254

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Bumblebee queens are better at olfactory learning and more sensitive to scents than workers.

Proceedings. Biological sciences·2026
Same author

Bumblebee queens differ in brain morphology but not learning performance across life stages.

The Journal of experimental biology·2026
Same author

Nectar metabolomes contribute to pollination syndromes.

The New phytologist·2025
Same author

Economic foraging in a floral marketplace: asymmetrically dominated decoy effects in bumblebees.

Proceedings. Biological sciences·2024
Same author

Field agrochemical exposure impacts locomotor activity in wild bumblebees.

Ecology·2024
Same author

Breaking the cycle: Reforming pesticide regulation to protect pollinators.

Bioscience·2023

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 24, 2025

Radio Frequency Identification and Motion-sensitive Video Efficiently Automate Recording of Unrewarded Choice Behavior by Bumblebees
09:09

Radio Frequency Identification and Motion-sensitive Video Efficiently Automate Recording of Unrewarded Choice Behavior by Bumblebees

Published on: November 15, 2014

11.0K

Bumblebees show capacity for behavioral traditions.

Felicity Muth1

  • 1Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, USA. Felicity.Muth@austin.utexas.edu.

Learning & Behavior
|July 10, 2023
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Bumblebees exhibit social learning, leading to new behaviors spreading rapidly through a group. This research explores how basic cognitive processes drive complex behaviors in social insects.

Keywords:
Associative learningCultureSocial learning

More Related Videos

The HoneyComb Paradigm for Research on Collective Human Behavior
06:48

The HoneyComb Paradigm for Research on Collective Human Behavior

Published on: January 19, 2019

9.4K
A Novel Behavioral Assay to Investigate Gustatory Responses of Individual, Freely-moving Bumble Bees Bombus terrestris
07:30

A Novel Behavioral Assay to Investigate Gustatory Responses of Individual, Freely-moving Bumble Bees Bombus terrestris

Published on: July 21, 2016

8.8K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 24, 2025

Radio Frequency Identification and Motion-sensitive Video Efficiently Automate Recording of Unrewarded Choice Behavior by Bumblebees
09:09

Radio Frequency Identification and Motion-sensitive Video Efficiently Automate Recording of Unrewarded Choice Behavior by Bumblebees

Published on: November 15, 2014

11.0K
The HoneyComb Paradigm for Research on Collective Human Behavior
06:48

The HoneyComb Paradigm for Research on Collective Human Behavior

Published on: January 19, 2019

9.4K
A Novel Behavioral Assay to Investigate Gustatory Responses of Individual, Freely-moving Bumble Bees Bombus terrestris
07:30

A Novel Behavioral Assay to Investigate Gustatory Responses of Individual, Freely-moving Bumble Bees Bombus terrestris

Published on: July 21, 2016

8.8K

Area of Science:

  • Behavioral Ecology
  • Cognitive Science
  • Entomology

Background:

  • Social insects, such as bumblebees, exhibit complex group behaviors.
  • Understanding the mechanisms of social learning is crucial for explaining behavioral evolution.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate social learning in bumblebees.
  • To determine how novel behaviors become dominant within a social group.
  • To explore the role of simple cognitive mechanisms in complex behavioral development.

Main Methods:

  • Observational studies of bumblebee colonies.
  • Experimental manipulation of social learning opportunities.
  • Analysis of behavioral transmission dynamics.

Main Results:

  • Bumblebees demonstrated significant social learning capabilities.
  • A novel learned behavior rapidly became dominant across the studied bumblebee group.
  • Evidence suggests simple cognitive processes underlie this behavioral spread.

Conclusions:

  • Social learning is a key driver of behavioral change in bumblebees.
  • This study provides a model for understanding how complex behaviors emerge from simple cognitive mechanisms.
  • Social insects offer valuable insights into the evolution of collective behavior.