Bees provide a good model to investigate the evolution of lateralization. So far, most studies focused on olfactory learning and memories in tethered bees. This study investigated possible behavioural biases in free-flying buff-tailed bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) by analysing their turning decisions in a T-maze. Bees of various size were trained to associate a syrup reward with a blue target placed at the centre of the T-maze. The bees were then tested over 16 trials by presenting them with blue targets at the end of the maze’s arms. The maze was rotated 180° after the first 8 trials to control for environmental factors. The number of turnings to the left and right arms were analysed. The bees sampled exhibited a population-level rightward turning bias. As bumblebees vary significantly in size with large bees being better learners than smaller ones, we measured the thorax width to identify a possible relationship between size and bias. No significant correlation was identified. This study shows that bees present lateralization in a visuo-motor task that mimics their foraging behaviour, indicating a possible specialization of the right side of the nervous system in routine tasks.

Visuo-motor biases in buff-tailed bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) / Waite, L.; Frasnelli, E.. - In: LATERALITY. - ISSN 1357-650X. - 26:1-2(2021), pp. 55-70. [10.1080/1357650X.2020.1826503]

Visuo-motor biases in buff-tailed bumblebees (Bombus terrestris)

Frasnelli E.
2021-01-01

Abstract

Bees provide a good model to investigate the evolution of lateralization. So far, most studies focused on olfactory learning and memories in tethered bees. This study investigated possible behavioural biases in free-flying buff-tailed bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) by analysing their turning decisions in a T-maze. Bees of various size were trained to associate a syrup reward with a blue target placed at the centre of the T-maze. The bees were then tested over 16 trials by presenting them with blue targets at the end of the maze’s arms. The maze was rotated 180° after the first 8 trials to control for environmental factors. The number of turnings to the left and right arms were analysed. The bees sampled exhibited a population-level rightward turning bias. As bumblebees vary significantly in size with large bees being better learners than smaller ones, we measured the thorax width to identify a possible relationship between size and bias. No significant correlation was identified. This study shows that bees present lateralization in a visuo-motor task that mimics their foraging behaviour, indicating a possible specialization of the right side of the nervous system in routine tasks.
2021
1-2
Waite, L.; Frasnelli, E.
Visuo-motor biases in buff-tailed bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) / Waite, L.; Frasnelli, E.. - In: LATERALITY. - ISSN 1357-650X. - 26:1-2(2021), pp. 55-70. [10.1080/1357650X.2020.1826503]
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11572/323314
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