A short history of studies on intelligence and brain in honeybees

Abstract

Reflections about the historical roots of our current scientific endeavors are useful from time to time as they help us to acknowledge the ideas, concepts, methodological approaches, and idiosyncrasies of the researchers that paved the ground we stand on right now. The 50-year anniversary of Apidologie offers the opportunity to refresh our knowledge about the history of bee research. I take the liberty of putting the founding year of Apidologie in the middle of the period I cover here. The nascent period of behavioral biology around the late 19th to the early twentieth century was intimately connected with a loss of concepts related to the mental functions of the brain, concepts that were rooted in Darwin’s theory of gradualism in the living world including cognition in animals. This loss was celebrated both in ethology and behaviorism as the gateway to scientific impartiality. Using this apparently strict scientific approach, impressive discoveries were made by observing and strictly quantifying the behavior of bees. The first forays into the brain, however, uncovered a richness of structure and function that reached far beyond stereotypical input/output connections and opened the way to compensating the conceptual restrictions imposed on us by traditional ethology. Honeybee research provides us with a particularly exciting story in this context. The cognitive turn in behavioral biology is intimately connected to the increasing knowledge of how the brain works, also in honeybee research. What has been achieved so far is just the beginning, but it gives us a glimpse of a promising future. Teamwork between neuroscientists and behavioral biologists is needed to elucidate brain functions such as the expectation of future outcomes and intentionality as an entry to animal intelligence reflecting the flexibility and adaptability in behavior also seen in honeybees.

Honeybee cognition as a tool for scientific engagement

“…For instance, they live in a society, they share food, communicate locations and even the necessity of grooming through the grooming dance [64]. Furthermore, their relatively larger brain, compared to another laboratory staple, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster , makes learning experiments simpler and easier to conduct with non-specialists [15,19].…”

“…Apis mellifera (european honeybees) provides an excellent tool for scientific engagement, of academic and lay public alike, while furthering our understanding of this critical agricultural pollinator. Honeybees have complex social interactions driven by intra-hive learning and communication [9]. They are capable of not only learning the location of food resources but also communicate to their nestmates through their waggle dance [9,10].…”

“…Honeybees have complex social interactions driven by intra-hive learning and communication [9]. They are capable of not only learning the location of food resources but also communicate to their nestmates through their waggle dance [9,10]. In the laboratory, honeybees are exceptional model organisms to study cognition, memory and communication.…”

Honeybee Cognition as a Tool for Scientific Engagement

“…Apis mellifera (European honeybees) provides an excellent tool for scientific engagement, of academic and lay public alike, while furthering our understanding of this critical agricultural pollinator. Honeybees have complex social interactions driven by intra-hive learning and communication [ 20 ]. They are capable of not only learning the location of food resources but also communicating to their nestmates through varying forms of communication including the waggle dance [ 20 , 21 ].…”

“…Honeybees have complex social interactions driven by intra-hive learning and communication [ 20 ]. They are capable of not only learning the location of food resources but also communicating to their nestmates through varying forms of communication including the waggle dance [ 20 , 21 ]. In the laboratory, honeybees are exceptional model organisms to study cognition, memory and communication.…”