?Classical olfactory conditioning promotes long term memory and improves odor-cued flight orientation in the South American native bumblebee Bombus pauloensis

NERY, DENISE; PALOTTINI, FLORENCIA; FARINA, WALTER M

Congreso; VI ALAEQ; 2021

Bumblebees are one of the most important pollinators for agroecosystems around the world. The South American species Bombus pauloensis (Hymenoptera: Apidae) is a commercially reared pollinator increasingly managed in greenhouse crops and in some outdoor commercial plantations. Recently, a study has shown that it is possible to train this bumblebee under a proboscis extension response paradigm using rewarded odours. Based on this study, we examined the capacity of this bumblebee species to establish stable and long term memories under an olfactory classical conditioning procedure and its ability to evoke information that has been acquired in another and very different behavioural context. Our results show that Bombus pauloensis can recall olfactory memories for at least 48 hours after training and that it is able to transfer memories from a classical to an operant context. These results support the possibility that social learning events related to resource information could occur within the nest of the South American bumblebee, an aspect with implications on collective foraging and recruitment