Social cognition in insects

Chittka, Lars; Rossi, Natacha

doi:10.1016/j.tics.2022.04.001

Cited by 30 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 84 publications

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“…Perhaps elements of the vast, complex repertoire of innate behaviours seen in social insects were not always so instinctive (21). The reason that we have often failed to see evidence of culture in non-human animals may be that we are simply looking too late (5). Social insects may represent an exciting model to investigate these hypotheses, as well as the mechanisms underpinning culture itself.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Whether Bumblebees Are Likely To Develop Similar Behavioural...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The diversity of behaviours observed in some insect societies is on a par with, or exceeds that, of some mammals (1,2), and includes the construction of architecturally complex, climate-controlled nests, and the division of labour between foraging, brood care and nest defence (3,4). Indeed, outside the human realm, their nesting structures are unparalleled in terms of their regularity, sophistication, and their scale in proportion to body size (5). There is profound variation in foraging specialisations, architectures and social organisations not just between related species of social insects, but more intriguingly, even within species (4,5).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indeed, outside the human realm, their nesting structures are unparalleled in terms of their regularity, sophistication, and their scale in proportion to body size (5). There is profound variation in foraging specialisations, architectures and social organisations not just between related species of social insects, but more intriguingly, even within species (4,5). However, unlike in humans, these specialisations have historically been viewed as a limited set of pre-programmed responses to external stimuli resulting from evolutionary trial-and-error processes (2).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The establishment and transmission of novel foraging techniques indicates a capacity for culture in bumblebees (Bombus terrestris)

Bridges

MaBouDi

Procenko

et al. 2022

Preprint

Self Cite

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The astonishing behavioural repertoires of social insects have been thought largely innate, but these insects have repeatedly demonstrated remarkable capacities for both individual and social learning. Using the bumblebee Bombus terrestris as a model, we developed a two-option puzzle box task and used open diffusion paradigms to observe the transmission of novel, non-natural foraging behaviours through populations. Box-opening behaviour spread through colonies seeded with a demonstrator trained to perform one of the two possible behavioural variants, and the observers acquired the demonstrated variant. This preference persisted among observers even when the alternative technique was discovered. In control diffusion experiments that lacked a demonstrator, some bees spontaneously opened the puzzle boxes but were significantly less proficient than those that learned in the presence of a demonstrator. This suggested that social learning was crucial to proper acquisition of box-opening. Additional open diffusion experiments where two behavioural variants were initially present in similar proportions ended with a single variant becoming dominant, due to stochastic processes. This could lead to the emergence and maintenance of local cultural variation. These results suggest that bumblebees, like mammals and birds, may have the capacity for culture and to sustain cultural variation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Whether Bumblebees Are Likely To Develop Similar Behavioural...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The establishment and transmission of novel foraging techniques indicates a capacity for culture in bumblebees (Bombus terrestris)

Bridges

MaBouDi

Procenko

et al. 2022

Preprint

Self Cite

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“…At the same time, the works by Frisch (1950, 1967), Lindauer ( 1971 ), and Michener ( 1974 ) comprise the main theoretical framework regarding bee physiology, biology, and behaviour, both in the more general sense of the insect and, specifically, of Meliponini species. Besides these authors, this paper also draws on behavioural ecology literature, namely the works by Chittka ( 2017 ), Chittka and Rossi ( 2022 ), Hölldobler and Wilson ( 2009 ), and Jackson, Holcombe, and Ratnieks ( 2004 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Semiotically Mediated Human-Bee Communication in the Practice of Brazilian Meliponiculture

Piva

2022

Biosemiotics

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Stingless bees are among the most dominant pollinators in the south tropics. As such, the rational beekeeping of stingless bee species, called meliponiculture, is an ancient and relevant activity, related to sustainable agricultural development, and which connects traditional knowledge to innovation and novelty. Given the relevance of this topic, this paper discusses the possibilities of a semiotically mediated communication between humans and Meliponini (stingless bees). Zoosemiotics, as the studies of animal views of the world, is the ideal modelling system for the investigation of the possibilities of mutual understanding between these two species. Starting from the premise that, for there to be inter-specific communication, there must be a shared code, and that this depends on the biological makeup and sensory apparatus of both organisms involved in the communication process, this research suggests that a possible way to communicate with stingless bees is with the use of olfactory (chemical) signals, since this channel seems to be common to both humans and bees. Considering that for human-animal relations one party must be able to recognize the other (iconic learning), it is revealed that chemical signals do allow bees to recognize individual humans, even going so far as profiling this person as ‘not a threat’. Finally, bees are seen to act cooperatively while the beekeeper is taking action to protect and maintain the nest, something that can be interpreted as an opening of semiotic relations, where the bees are deeming the beekeeper as part of their social group. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12304-022-09519-2.

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Reproductive inefficiency and increased behavioral variation are associated with large group size in the orchid bee, Euglossa dilemma

Saleh,

Delva,

Ramírez

et al. 2024

Insect. Soc.

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Orchid bees are the only corbiculate bee lineage that is not obligately eusocial. However, multiple species of orchid bee show facultative sociality, with reproductive division of labor and a social hierarchy effectively enforced by oophagy. Orchid bee species differ in the degree of reproductive skew in social groups, as well as the rigidity of social roles. In the orchid bee Euglossa dilemma, previous observation of social groups of two or three individuals found that reproductive skew was complete, with one clear dominant individual that ate and replaced each subordinate laid egg. Here, we compare patterns of egg laying and egg-replacement between typical social nests of 2–3 individuals and larger social nests of 4–5 individuals. We find a striking difference in the reproductive behavior of colonies of varying group size; larger nests exhibit more reproductive inefficiency and conflict over the dominant social position, characterized by repeated oophagy and slower egg replacement. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that group size in E. dilemma may be limited by the ability of dominant bees to keep up with egg replacement. We discuss the possible causes and consequences of observed behavioral variation and its implications for understanding social behavior in orchid bees.

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Social cognition in insects

Cited by 30 publications

References 84 publications

The establishment and transmission of novel foraging techniques indicates a capacity for culture in bumblebees (Bombus terrestris)

The establishment and transmission of novel foraging techniques indicates a capacity for culture in bumblebees (Bombus terrestris)

Semiotically Mediated Human-Bee Communication in the Practice of Brazilian Meliponiculture

Reproductive inefficiency and increased behavioral variation are associated with large group size in the orchid bee, Euglossa dilemma

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