Floral scents experienced within the colony affect long-term

ANDRÉS ARENAS, VANESA M. FERNÁNDEZ, WALTER M. FARINA

APIDOLOGIE

Año: 2008 vol. 39 p. 714 - 722

0044-8435

Food scents circulating inside beehives influence foraging preferences in the field. However, the length and nature of the prior experience that lead to this biased response remain unknown. In order to determine how long honeybees show a food preference after experiencing a scented food solution inside the colony, we offered sugar solution scented with either Linalool (LIO) or Phenylacetaldehyde (PHE) into beehives. Later, after all the combs of the experimental colonies were replaced, the landing responses of foragers were quantified in a two-scented-feeder situation outside the colony. A preference for the previously circulated odor was observed until four days later in the PHE-treated colony and until eight days later in the LIO-treated colony. We also tested whether foragers with a non-rewarded olfactory experience (PHE-exposure delivered as volatile compound inside the hive), preferred a feeder scented with this odor to an unscented one. Results support the conclusion that both rewarded and non-rewarded odor experiences have relevant roles in foraging preferences. The offering of a scented food enhanced the bias to this odor, whereas the volatile compound exposure caused a reduced landing response towards the scented option. These results suggest that in-hive prior experience with food odors form associative memories that cause a long-term foraging preference. On the other hand, odors experienced as volatiles within the nest are avoided in the field.