Time-place learning and the ecology of recruitment in a stingless bee, Trigona amalthea (Hymenoptera, Apidae)

Abstract

-The stingless bee, Trigona amalthea (Olivier), has the ability to associate time and place with feeding. Bees learned to visit a training site during a feeding interval in order to acquire a reward. A lengthy period of anticipatory visits to the training site preceded the feeding interval. When a reward was not presented, visitation was high preceding and during the feeding interval but was rare following the feeding interval, behavior indicative of time-place learning. Additionally, we demonstrate that T. amalthea scouts recruit other workers to nectar baits, however, there is no relationship between the flight time to the colony and either the number of visits prior to recruitment or the number of workers recruited. Due to territoriality in this species, foraging ranges are truncated so that the expected reductions of foraging effort at the margins of the foraging territory are not observed. In T. amalthea a combination of time-place learning and recruitment allow for rapid mobilization of workers when food is available. stingless bee / Meliponinae / Trigona / foraging / learning / recruitment

Temporal Memory in Foraging of the Stingless Bee Melipona subnitida (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini)

“…In M. subnitida this temporal memory proved to be accurate, with bees anticipating visits on the days following their discovery, as observed in previous studies with stingless bees (Breed et al, 2002;Murphy & Breed, 2008;Jesus et al, 2014), and for A. mellifera (Moore & Doherty, 2009). In A. mellifera (Moore & Doherty, 2009) as in the current study, a trend was observed, in which the accuracy of temporal memory increases with the passing of days, allowing these individuals to explore the resources available in the environment as quickly and efficiently as possible.…”

“…Our results point to the existence of temporal memory in M. subnitida, which is verified from the behavior of foodanticipatory activity and the end of the search for the resource when the availability of food has ceased, as seen in other stingless bees: T. amalthea, T. fulviventris, and M. fasciculata (Breed et al, 2002;Murphy & Breed, 2008;Jesus et al, 2014).…”

Temporal Memory in Foraging of the Stingless Bee Melipona subnitida (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini)

“…In M. subnitida this temporal memory proved to be accurate, with bees anticipating visits on the days following their discovery, as observed in previous studies with stingless bees (Breed et al, 2002;Murphy & Breed, 2008;Jesus et al, 2014), and for A. mellifera (Moore & Doherty, 2009). In A. mellifera (Moore & Doherty, 2009) as in the current study, a trend was observed, in which the accuracy of temporal memory increases with the passing of days, allowing these individuals to explore the resources available in the environment as quickly and efficiently as possible.…”

“…Our results point to the existence of temporal memory in M. subnitida, which is verified from the behavior of foodanticipatory activity and the end of the search for the resource when the availability of food has ceased, as seen in other stingless bees: T. amalthea, T. fulviventris, and M. fasciculata (Breed et al, 2002;Murphy & Breed, 2008;Jesus et al, 2014).…”

Time–place learning in the bee Melipona fasciculata (Apidae, Meliponini)

“…Floral resources, such as nectar and pollen, remain available in the environment at regular intervals in many cases (Edge et al 2012). Therefore, it is presumed that animals depending on these resources present TPL, as demonstrated for A. mellifera (Moore 2001;Wagner et al 2013;review in Antle and Silver 2009), T. amalthea (Breed et al 2002), T. fulviventris (Murphy and Breed 2008), and M. fasciculata (this study). In this paper, anticipation by M. fasciculata employed foragers became evident through (1) the time of discovery of the resource (at approximately 1100 h on the first day), and (2) the opening time of the feeder (0800 h).…”

“…The anticipatory behavior of M. fasciculata showed some similarities in relation to that of T. amalthea (Breed et al 2002) and T. fulviventris (Murphy and Breed 2008). M. fasciculata showed anticipation of the time when food became available (at 0800 h in this experiment) and the time at which workers discovered the feeder on the first day (around 1100 h).…”

Testing time–place learning in the cichlid fish Nile tilapia

“…Generally, this phenomenon is associated with the synchronization of visiting a patch with available food in a specific time. This kind of learning has been reported for many animals, such as insects (Breed et al 2002), birds (Wilkie et al 1996), rats (Thorpe and Wilkie 2002), and fish (Reebs 1996(Reebs , 1999. Indeed, food items may change daily, seasonally, and/or spatially; and it seems likely that some learning abilities play a role in foraging flexibility (Dill 1983).…”

Temporal Memory in Foraging of the Stingless Bee Melipona subnitida (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini)

“…In M. subnitida this temporal memory proved to be accurate, with bees anticipating visits on the days following their discovery, as observed in previous studies with stingless bees (Breed et al, 2002;Murphy & Breed, 2008;Jesus et al, 2014), and for A. mellifera (Moore & Doherty, 2009). In A. mellifera (Moore & Doherty, 2009) as in the current study, a trend was observed, in which the accuracy of temporal memory increases with the passing of days, allowing these individuals to explore the resources available in the environment as quickly and efficiently as possible.…”

“…Our results point to the existence of temporal memory in M. subnitida, which is verified from the behavior of foodanticipatory activity and the end of the search for the resource when the availability of food has ceased, as seen in other stingless bees: T. amalthea, T. fulviventris, and M. fasciculata (Breed et al, 2002;Murphy & Breed, 2008;Jesus et al, 2014).…”

Time–place learning in the bee Melipona fasciculata (Apidae, Meliponini)

“…Floral resources, such as nectar and pollen, remain available in the environment at regular intervals in many cases (Edge et al 2012). Therefore, it is presumed that animals depending on these resources present TPL, as demonstrated for A. mellifera (Moore 2001;Wagner et al 2013;review in Antle and Silver 2009), T. amalthea (Breed et al 2002), T. fulviventris (Murphy and Breed 2008), and M. fasciculata (this study). In this paper, anticipation by M. fasciculata employed foragers became evident through (1) the time of discovery of the resource (at approximately 1100 h on the first day), and (2) the opening time of the feeder (0800 h).…”

“…The anticipatory behavior of M. fasciculata showed some similarities in relation to that of T. amalthea (Breed et al 2002) and T. fulviventris (Murphy and Breed 2008). M. fasciculata showed anticipation of the time when food became available (at 0800 h in this experiment) and the time at which workers discovered the feeder on the first day (around 1100 h).…”

Testing time–place learning in the cichlid fish Nile tilapia

“…Generally, this phenomenon is associated with the synchronization of visiting a patch with available food in a specific time. This kind of learning has been reported for many animals, such as insects (Breed et al 2002), birds (Wilkie et al 1996), rats (Thorpe and Wilkie 2002), and fish (Reebs 1996(Reebs , 1999. Indeed, food items may change daily, seasonally, and/or spatially; and it seems likely that some learning abilities play a role in foraging flexibility (Dill 1983).…”

Temporal Memory in Foraging of the Stingless Bee Melipona subnitida (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini)

“…In M. subnitida this temporal memory proved to be accurate, with bees anticipating visits on the days following their discovery, as observed in previous studies with stingless bees (Breed et al, 2002;Murphy & Breed, 2008;Jesus et al, 2014), and for A. mellifera (Moore & Doherty, 2009). In A. mellifera (Moore & Doherty, 2009) as in the current study, a trend was observed, in which the accuracy of temporal memory increases with the passing of days, allowing these individuals to explore the resources available in the environment as quickly and efficiently as possible.…”

“…Our results point to the existence of temporal memory in M. subnitida, which is verified from the behavior of foodanticipatory activity and the end of the search for the resource when the availability of food has ceased, as seen in other stingless bees: T. amalthea, T. fulviventris, and M. fasciculata (Breed et al, 2002;Murphy & Breed, 2008;Jesus et al, 2014).…”

Time–place learning in the bee Melipona fasciculata (Apidae, Meliponini)

“…Floral resources, such as nectar and pollen, remain available in the environment at regular intervals in many cases (Edge et al 2012). Therefore, it is presumed that animals depending on these resources present TPL, as demonstrated for A. mellifera (Moore 2001;Wagner et al 2013;review in Antle and Silver 2009), T. amalthea (Breed et al 2002), T. fulviventris (Murphy and Breed 2008), and M. fasciculata (this study). In this paper, anticipation by M. fasciculata employed foragers became evident through (1) the time of discovery of the resource (at approximately 1100 h on the first day), and (2) the opening time of the feeder (0800 h).…”

“…The anticipatory behavior of M. fasciculata showed some similarities in relation to that of T. amalthea (Breed et al 2002) and T. fulviventris (Murphy and Breed 2008). M. fasciculata showed anticipation of the time when food became available (at 0800 h in this experiment) and the time at which workers discovered the feeder on the first day (around 1100 h).…”

Testing time–place learning in the cichlid fish Nile tilapia

“…Generally, this phenomenon is associated with the synchronization of visiting a patch with available food in a specific time. This kind of learning has been reported for many animals, such as insects (Breed et al 2002), birds (Wilkie et al 1996), rats (Thorpe and Wilkie 2002), and fish (Reebs 1996(Reebs , 1999. Indeed, food items may change daily, seasonally, and/or spatially; and it seems likely that some learning abilities play a role in foraging flexibility (Dill 1983).…”