Meeting Abstract

P3.4  Thursday, Jan. 6  Feature Positive and Feature Negative Learning in Honey Bees PENDERGRAFT, L.*; BATES-ALBERS, L.; DUELL, M.; ZUNIGA, E.; ABRAMSON, C.I.; CAKMAK, I.; BARTHELL, J.F.; HRANITZ, J.M.; WELLS, H.; Oklahoma State University, Stillwater; University of Central Oklahoma; Bloomsburg University PA; Humboldt State Univ., Arcata CA; Oklahoma State University, Stillwater; Uludag University, Bursa Turkey; University of Central Oklahoma; Bloomsburg University PA; Tulsa University, OK jhranitz@bloomu.edu

Honey bees (Apis mellifera) were presented sequential trials where bees were given the choice between a feeding plate with two white and one blue circles, and one with three white circles. Each bee was tested under two different reward scenarios (treatments). During the feature-positive treatment bees received 4 ul of 2M sucrose when choosing the feeding plate with two white and one blue circles, but received 4 ul of saturated NaCl solution when choosing the feeding plate with three white circles. During the feature-negative treatment bees were rewarded when visiting the feeding plate with three white circles, while visitation to the feeding plate with two white and one blue circles only offered bees the NaCl solution. As an experimental control a set of bees was offered sequential trials where both the feeding plate with two white and one blue circles, and the one with three white circles offered the sucrose reward. Bee feeding plate choice differed between the feature-positive and feature-negative treatment. Bees favored the feeding plate type with the sucrose reward, and never consumed the NaCl when encountered in each treatment. Further, behavior of bees during both the feature-positive and the feature negative treatments differed from that of control bees. However, neither feature-positive nor feature-negative learning reached high levels of success.