Bumblebee social learning outcomes correlate with their flower-facing behaviour.

ABSTRACT: Previous studies suggest that social learning in bumblebees can occur through second-order conditioning, with conspecifics functioning as first-order reinforcers. However, the behavioural mechanisms underlying bumblebees' acquisition of socially learned associations remain largely unexplored. Investigating these mechanisms requires detailed quantification and analysis of the observation process. Here we designed a new 2D paradigm suitable for simple top-down high-speed video recording and analysed bumblebees' observational learning process using a deep-learning-based pose-estimation framework. Two groups of bumblebees observed live conspecifics foraging from either blue or yellow flowers during a single foraging bout, and were subsequently tested for their socially learned colour preferenc

SUBMITTER: Lu Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11599322 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature