Relational similarity in wild bumblebees: the role of spatial alignment complexity.

ABSTRACT: Being able to abstract relations of similarity is considered one of the hallmarks of human cognition. Importantly, previous research has shown that other animals-both vertebrates (e.g., primates) and invertebrates (e.g., bees)- are capable of spontaneously attending to relational similarity in spatial mapping tasks. These tasks require individuals to find a reward in an array of, for example, three objects, after observing a reward being hidden in a different array of three objects. Studies with primates have shown that performance in this type of task is influenced by the distribution of the objects in the arrays. Here I investigated whether wild bumblebees' relational abilities are also affected by the spatial complexity of the arrays (i.e., three horizontally aligned stimuli). In Experi

SUBMITTER: Martin-Ordas G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12628461 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature