Visual discrimination learning in the Australian stingless bee Tetragonula carbonaria (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

Abstract

Karl von Frisch's ground-breaking research first demonstrated visual learning in the European honey bee (Apis mellifera). The study of Australian native bees and their cognitive abilities, however, is still a relatively new and emerging field. Here we examined visual cognition in the Australian stingless bee, Tetragonula carbonaria. First we tested for any colour preferences in T. carbonaria. Then we set stingless bees with three simple visual discrimination learning tasks using distinct colours (blue or yellow), oriented gratings (horizontal or vertical) and patterns (radial or concentric). In the colour preference task, we found evidence of a weak colour preference, with bees preferring colours blue and purple. In the visual discrimination task, T. carbonaria learned all three tasks in just 10 training trials. Bees learned equally well across the colour, orientation and pattern conditions, suggesting rapid visual learning. Future research should focus on closing knowledge gaps in Australian native bee cognition research, building upon the results of this study and exploring more complex non-elemental learning.