Infographic: Quick Learners
Honeybees can remember reward-associated odors three days after a single learning experience.
Ruth Williams
Ruth is a freelance journalist and regular correspondent for The Scientist, writing news for the website and monthly Modus Operandi articles for the magazine. Before freelancing, Ruth was a...
View full profile.
Learn about our editorial policies.
May 1, 2020
Forager honeybees are exposed once to an odor while simultaneously receiving sucrose via a cocktail stick. The insects extend their proboscises to drink the sugary treat (1). At 1 hour, 4 hours, 24 hours, or 72 hours after this experience, the bees are exposed to the same odor or to a control odor. At times up to 24 hours, most bees correctly extend their proboscises in response to the paired odor (2) and not the control one (3). Even at 72 hours, approximately one-third of the trained bees do the same.
Read the full story.
