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First published online November 1, 2006
Journal of Experimental Biology 209, 4420-4428 (2006)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2006
doi: 10.1242/jeb.02522

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Honeybee memory: a honeybee knows what to do and when

Shaowu Zhang^1,*,, Sebastian Schwarz², Mario Pahl², Hong Zhu¹ and Juergen Tautz^2,*

¹ ARC Centre of Excellence in Vision Science, Research School of Biological Sciences, Australian National University, PO Box 475, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia
² Beegroup, Biozentrum, Universitaet Würzburg, Am Hubland, D-97074 Würzburg, Germany

View larger version (17K): [in a new window]   Fig. 1. Results of experimental Series I carried out in the AWBFF (indoor) at the Australian National University. A pair of blue/white gratings oriented at 45° or 135° to the horizontal was used at the feeder and the hive. The results indicated that trained bees can reverse their pattern preference following midday breaks, as well as an overnight break, both at (A) the feeder and (B) the hive. The modulation of the average choice frequency, with reference to 45° grating can be approximated very well by a sinusoidal curve with a frequency of 0.52, i.e. a period of 12 h. The correlation coefficient are 0.98 for the feeder and 0.998 for the hive, respectively. Terminology for the test types: M, morning; A, afternoon; H, hive; F, feeder; 1, early; 2, late. ***P<0.001. See text for further details.

View larger version (21K): [in a new window]   Fig. 2. Results of Series I experiments carried out at the Bee Station (outdoors) at Wuerzburg University. The visual patterns were black/white sectors versus rings at the feeder, and black/white vertical versus horizontal gratings at the hive (patterns shown at the base of each bar). The results showed that trained bees can reverse their pattern preference following midday breaks, as well as an overnight break, both at the feeder and at the hive. Terminology for the test types: M, morning; A, afternoon; H, hive; F, feeder; 1, early; 2, late. ***P<0.001. See text for further details.

View larger version (14K): [in a new window]   Fig. 3. Results of Series 2 experiments, carried out in the AWBFF at the Australian National University, which demonstrated that trained bees are able to reverse their pattern preference in just a few minutes, depending on whether they are flying out to forage or returning to the hive. ***P<0.001, *P<0.05. See text for further details.

View larger version (20K): [in a new window]   Fig. 4. Results of the critical tests in Series 3 experiments carried out at the Bee Station at Wuerzburg University. The visual patterns were black/white horizontal versus vertical gratings at the feeder and at the hive. However, the horizontal grating at the feeder and the vertical grating at the hive were the positive patterns in the morning, whereas the vertical grating at the feeder and the horizontal grating at the hive became the positive patterns in the afternoon. Results for one pattern are given. The results showed that trained bees significantly reverse their pattern preference (A) at the feeder and (B) at the hive entrance following midday breaks, as well as after an overnight break. The trained bees also had a significantly different pattern preference at the feeder and at the hive entrance within each testing period. The modulation of the average choice frequency, with reference to the horizontal grating could be approximated very well by a sinusoidal curve with a frequency of 0.52, i.e. a period of 12 h. The correlation coefficient was 0.97 for both the feeder and the hive. However, the phase of the sinusoidal curve at the hive was shifted 180° with reference to the feeder. See text for further details. Terminology for the test types: M, morning; A, afternoon; H, hive; F, feeder; 1, early; 2, late. ***P<0.001.