Abstracts » Zoology and wildlife conservation

Can honey bees count landmarks?

Article Abstract:

A study of honey bees, Apis mellifera, trained along a row of equally spaced identical landmarks, shows that bees estimate the distance to a goal depending on a sequence of identical landmarks. Altering the number of landmarks between hive and food source during training causes the bees to reach sites that differ from the trained distance, proving that bees exhibit protocounting behavior using sequential memory for landmarks.

Analysis, Animal intelligence

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Bees travel novel homeward routes by integrating separately acquired vector memories

Article Abstract:

The honey bee's ability to take short cuts between two feeding sites was investigated to determine the existence of cognitive maps in these insects. Findings showed that bees never took shortcuts but used homeward directions in reaching the sites. Bees that have been trained in only one feeding site were not able to travel directly home. These results suggested that inference of a cognitive map in bees would br premature.

Behavior, Animal homing

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The influences of landmarks on distance estimation of honey bees

Article Abstract:

A honeybee's memory for targets of flight appears to be influenced by the target sites distance from the hive, landmarks the bee will pass while flying to the target, and landmarks associated with the target itself. A study to determine the varying influences of landmarks and distance on the flight memory of bees from the Apis mellifera is described.

Insect flight

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