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Lookup NU author(s): Daniel Stabler
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© 2019, The Author(s).In addition to sugars, nectar contains multiple nutrient compounds in varying concentrations, yet little is known of their effect on the reward properties of nectar and the resulting implications for insect behaviour. We examined the pre-ingestive responses of honeybees to sucrose solutions containing a mix of pollen compounds, the amino acids proline or phenylalanine, or known distasteful substances, quinine and salt. We predicted that in taste and learning assays, bees would respond positively to the presence of nutrient compounds in a sucrose solution. However, bees’ proboscis extension responses decreased when their antennae were stimulated with pollen- or amino acid-supplemented sucrose solutions. Compared to pure sucrose, bees exhibited worse acquisition when conditioned to an odour with pollen-supplemented sucrose as the unconditioned stimulus. Such learning impairment was also observed with quinine-containing sucrose solutions. Our results suggest that bees can use their antennae to detect pollen compounds in floral nectars. Depending on the type and concentrations of compounds present, this may result in nectar being perceived as distasteful by bees, making it less effective in reinforcing the learning of floral cues. Such reward devaluation might be adaptive in cases where plants benefit from regulating the frequency of bee visitation.
Author(s): Nicholls E, Krishna S, Wright O, Stabler D, Krefft A, Somanathan H, Hempel de Ibarra N
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Journal of Comparative Physiology A: Neuroethology, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology
Year: 2019
Volume: 205
Issue: 3
Pages: 333-346
Online publication date: 05/06/2019
Acceptance date: 13/05/2019
Date deposited: 24/06/2019
ISSN (print): 0340-7594
ISSN (electronic): 1432-1351
Publisher: Springer Verlag
URL: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-019-01347-z
DOI: 10.1007/s00359-019-01347-z
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