Chao Wen, Shunping Dong, Yuhao Guo, Cai Wang, Weicheng Ding, Jin Ge, Junbao Wen, Lars Chittka
{"title":"在拉绳任务中,大黄蜂更喜欢短的绳子而不是长绳子,更喜欢连接的绳子而不是断开的绳子,但当两者冲突时,它们会优先考虑连通性而不是空间接近性。","authors":"Chao Wen, Shunping Dong, Yuhao Guo, Cai Wang, Weicheng Ding, Jin Ge, Junbao Wen, Lars Chittka","doi":"10.1111/1744-7917.70113","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>We aimed to investigate the trade-off strategies between efficiency and accessibility employed by bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) when solving string-pulling tasks. In these tasks, bees were required to choose between two strings, which varied in length, and whether or not they were connected to an artificial flower. Our results indicate that when presented with strings of varying lengths connected to artificial flowers containing rewards, the bees consistently preferred the shorter string. Instead of learning the string length experienced during training, the bees showed a preference for the shorter string, even after being trained with a longer one. Bumblebees were also capable of selecting connected over disconnected strings, even when proximity served as a confounding factor. These findings demonstrate that bumblebees flexibly deploy a diversity of strategies to solve string-pulling tasks, shedding light on their problem-solving capabilities when tackling non-natural spatial and object manipulation tasks.</p>","PeriodicalId":13618,"journal":{"name":"Insect Science","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"Bumblebees prefer shorter over longer strings and connected over disconnected ones in string-pulling tasks but prioritize connectivity over spatial proximity when the two are in conflict.\",\"authors\":\"Chao Wen, Shunping Dong, Yuhao Guo, Cai Wang, Weicheng Ding, Jin Ge, Junbao Wen, Lars Chittka\",\"doi\":\"10.1111/1744-7917.70113\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"<p><p>We aimed to investigate the trade-off strategies between efficiency and accessibility employed by bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) when solving string-pulling tasks. In these tasks, bees were required to choose between two strings, which varied in length, and whether or not they were connected to an artificial flower. Our results indicate that when presented with strings of varying lengths connected to artificial flowers containing rewards, the bees consistently preferred the shorter string. Instead of learning the string length experienced during training, the bees showed a preference for the shorter string, even after being trained with a longer one. Bumblebees were also capable of selecting connected over disconnected strings, even when proximity served as a confounding factor. These findings demonstrate that bumblebees flexibly deploy a diversity of strategies to solve string-pulling tasks, shedding light on their problem-solving capabilities when tackling non-natural spatial and object manipulation tasks.</p>\",\"PeriodicalId\":13618,\"journal\":{\"name\":\"Insect Science\",\"volume\":\" \",\"pages\":\"\"},\"PeriodicalIF\":3.0000,\"publicationDate\":\"2025-07-02\",\"publicationTypes\":\"Journal Article\",\"fieldsOfStudy\":null,\"isOpenAccess\":false,\"openAccessPdf\":\"\",\"citationCount\":\"0\",\"resultStr\":null,\"platform\":\"Semanticscholar\",\"paperid\":null,\"PeriodicalName\":\"Insect Science\",\"FirstCategoryId\":\"97\",\"ListUrlMain\":\"https://doi.org/10.1111/1744-7917.70113\",\"RegionNum\":1,\"RegionCategory\":\"农林科学\",\"ArticlePicture\":[],\"TitleCN\":null,\"AbstractTextCN\":null,\"PMCID\":null,\"EPubDate\":\"\",\"PubModel\":\"\",\"JCR\":\"Q1\",\"JCRName\":\"ENTOMOLOGY\",\"Score\":null,\"Total\":0}","platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Insect Science","FirstCategoryId":"97","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1744-7917.70113","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ENTOMOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
Bumblebees prefer shorter over longer strings and connected over disconnected ones in string-pulling tasks but prioritize connectivity over spatial proximity when the two are in conflict.
We aimed to investigate the trade-off strategies between efficiency and accessibility employed by bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) when solving string-pulling tasks. In these tasks, bees were required to choose between two strings, which varied in length, and whether or not they were connected to an artificial flower. Our results indicate that when presented with strings of varying lengths connected to artificial flowers containing rewards, the bees consistently preferred the shorter string. Instead of learning the string length experienced during training, the bees showed a preference for the shorter string, even after being trained with a longer one. Bumblebees were also capable of selecting connected over disconnected strings, even when proximity served as a confounding factor. These findings demonstrate that bumblebees flexibly deploy a diversity of strategies to solve string-pulling tasks, shedding light on their problem-solving capabilities when tackling non-natural spatial and object manipulation tasks.
期刊介绍:
Insect Science is an English-language journal, which publishes original research articles dealing with all fields of research in into insects and other terrestrial arthropods. Papers in any of the following fields will be considered: ecology, behavior, biogeography, physiology, biochemistry, sociobiology, phylogeny, pest management, and exotic incursions. The emphasis of the journal is on the adaptation and evolutionary biology of insects from the molecular to the ecosystem level. Reviews, mini reviews and letters to the editor, book reviews, and information about academic activities of the society are also published.