Bumblebees learn to use antennal and tarsal taste to predict the presence of nectar rewards in flowers.

ABSTRACT: Learning cues such as tastes associated with palatable food is an important mechanism animals have for foraging optimally. Insects can use gustatory receptor neurons (GRNs) in their mouthparts to detect nutrients and toxins, but they also taste compounds using sensilla on other organs such as their antennae and tarsi. Bees are adept at learning to associate floral traits with the presence of nectar rewards, but few studies have examined how they incorporate gustatory information from their antennae or tarsi detected on flower surfaces. Here, we characterize the ability of bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) to taste sugar, salt and bitter compounds using their antennae and then tested whether they could use this sensory information to associate it with rewarding artificial floral displays. We s

SUBMITTER: Harrap MJM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12579952 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature