Social learning during recruitment in honeybees

GRÜTER, CHRISTOPH; DÍAZ, PAULA; FARINA, WALTER M

Ribeirao Preto, Brasil

Congreso; 8th International IBRA International Conference on Tropical Bees; 2004

International Bee Research Association

Information-transfer processes mediated by chemosensory cues is the most elemental and primitive recruiting mechanism known in honeybees. Probably due to this fact, fewer studies of this topic were performed compared with those found in dance and pheromone-communication. It is already know that nectar-chemical properties are much more conservative as sensory cues than those impregnated onto the bee’s body surface. For this reason its informational relevance while bees search for a flower patch on the close range. With this in mind, we asked whether recruits are capable to learn inside the hive odor cues only associated to the nectar exploited before initiating their foraging mode. It is known that forager transfer olfactory memories established during flower visits to a proboscis-extension paradigm in the laboratory. If oral contacts (trophallaxis) mediated to acquire chemosensory information related to the exploited nectar, we should expect that recruits also transfer olfactory memories established during the nectar sharing inside the hive to a proboscis-extension paradigm. Groups of 6-8 bees were allowed to collect scented and unscented-sugar solution. Since all the hive-workers were labeled, recruited-mates were captured at the feeding platform before contacting the reward and carried to the lab where they were tested. Results showed that recruits could transfer olfactory memories that were not established during feeder visits to a proboscis-extension paradigm. This response well correlated with the presence of the odor diluted in the solution collected by forager-mates. In addition, differential-conditioning experiments showed that bees recruited to scented-solutions discriminated better a pair of odors than non-scented recruits.