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

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 specialisation of the right side of the nervous system in routine tasks.

Looking at lateralization as a dynamic and plastic feature of nervous systems

“…For instance, in cuttlefish, the use of shelters at the end of the maze's arms induces a leftward bias, but no bias is displayed when the shelters are removed (Jozet-Alves et al, 2012). We observed something similar in bumblebees (Waite & Frasnelli, 2020). When tested for the mere exploration of the T-mazer apparatus, bees did not display any turning bias.…”

“…When tested for the mere exploration of the T-mazer apparatus, bees did not display any turning bias. However, when trained to associate a visual stimulus with a sucrose reward and then presented with the same visual stimulus at the end of both arms, the bees showed a population-level bias in turning towards the right arm (Waite & Frasnelli, 2020). Red bugs (Dysdercus andreae) present a leftward turning bias when released in a T-maze, but when the bugs are blown with air before being placed in a T-maze, the bias is no longer displayed (Rivero-Aragon et al, 2018).…”

Lateralization of Courtship Traits Impacts Pentatomid Male Mating Success—Evidence from Field Observations

“…A large body of literature pointed out that population-level lateralized traits are widespread among both social [48][49][50] and solitary insect species. Concerning the latter, a growing number of recent studies are reporting lateralized traits of the courtship and mating in insects, including earwigs (e.g., Euborellia plebeja Dohrn, Labidura riparia (Pallas)), Nala lividipes (Dufour), and Nala nepalensis (Burr) [51][52][53], the tephritid fly Bactrocera oleae (Rossi) [17], encyrtid parasitoids, Leptomastidea abnormis (Girault) and Anagyrus vladimiri Triapitsyn [18,19], mosquitoes, Aedes albopictus (Skuse) and Culex pipiens L. [14,24], as well as the green bottle fly Lucilia sericata (Meigen) [41].…”

Harmonic radar tracking of individual melon flies, Zeugodacus cucurbitae, in Hawaii: Determining movement parameters in cage and field settings

“…There are examples of insect population-level turning biases which include giant water bugs [64], several ant spp. [65][66][67], cockroaches [68], honeybees [69], and bumblebees [70]. Population-level biases have also been found in a number of diptera including turning in drosophila [60], and mating behaviors in Culex pipiens L. [71] as well as two tephritids, B. oleae (Rossi) [72] and C. capitata [73].…”