Associative learning in honey bees

Menzel, Randolf

doi:10.1051/apido:19930301

Cited by 95 publications

(67 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Foraging honeybees (Apis mellifera) were captured at the entrance of an outdoor hive located on campus of the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. Bees were cold-anaesthetized and harnessed in plastic tubes for the proboscis extension response (PER) assay as previously described 20,62 . Only bees that were active and extended their proboscis in response to sugar were used.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neuroligin-associated microRNA-932 targets actin and regulates memory in the honeybee

et al. 2014

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Increasing evidence suggests small non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) such as microRNAs (miRNAs) control levels of mRNA expression during experience-related remodelling of the brain. Here we use an associative olfactory learning paradigm in the honeybee Apis mellifera to examine gene expression changes in the brain during memory formation. Brain transcriptome analysis reveals a general downregulation of protein-coding genes, including asparagine synthetase and actin, and upregulation of ncRNAs. miRNA-mRNA network predictions together with PCR validation suggest miRNAs including miR-210 and miR-932 target the downregulated protein-coding genes. Feeding cholesterol-conjugated antisense RNA to bees results in the inhibition of miR-210 and of miR-932. Loss of miR-932 impairs long-term memory formation, but not memory acquisition. Functional analyses show that miR-932 interacts with Act5C, providing evidence for direct regulation of actin expression by an miRNA. An activity-dependent increase in miR-932 expression may therefore control actin-related plasticity mechanisms and affect memory formation in the brain.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neuroligin-associated microRNA-932 targets actin and regulates memory in the honeybee

et al. 2014

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“…Although most honey bees learn rapidly to associate floral odors with a food reward, an ability that is fundamental to their success as foragers (Mauelshagen and Greggers, 1993;Menzel, 1993;Hammer and Menzel, 1995;Menzel and Müller, 1996), young adult workers 0 -3 d of age have been found to be very poor learners (Fig. 5) (Morgan et al, 1997).…”

Section: A Role For the Antennal Lobes In Memory Formation?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Activity-Dependent Changes to the Brain and Behavior of the Honey Bee,Apis mellifera(L.)

Sigg¹,

Thompson

Mercer³

1997

J. Neurosci.

116

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To explore the origins and possible behavioral consequences of structural plasticity in an insect brain, we have taken advantage of the following: (1) the highly compartmentalized nature of the primary antenno-sensory centers (antennal lobes) of the brain, (2) the ease with which individual compartments, or glomeruli, within the antennal-lobe neuropil can be identified, and (3) the predictability of changes to readily identifiable glomeruli in the antennal lobes of the adult worker honey bee. Treatment with the juvenile hormone analog methoprene and hive manipulation techniques are used to induce precocious foraging behavior in young worker honey bees. The impact of these treatments on the ontogeny of olfactory learning performance and on the volumes of readily identifiable glomeruli in the antennal lobes of the bee brain are examined in parallel. The study reveals that (1) significant changes in glomerular volume are activity dependent and (2) associative learning of floral odors improves with experience. Improvements in associative learning performance coincide temporally with increases in glomerular volume. This raises an important question: are changes in glomerular volume that result from shifts in behavior simply a consequence of changes in the use of peripheral sensory pathways, or are they associated with events that underlie learning and the formation of long-term memories?

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“…The ability to learn while foraging for flowers has been demonstrated in many insect taxa, such as bees (e.g. Dukas and Real, 1991;Heinrich, 1976;Heinrich, 1979;Laverty and Plowright, 1988;Menzel, 1985;Menzel, 1993), wasps (e.g. Sato and Takasu, 2000;Shafir, 1996;Takasu et al, 2007), hoverflies (Goulson and Wright, 1998), butterflies (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interspecific and intersexual learning rate differences in four butterfly species

Kandori

Yamaki

Okuyama

et al. 2009

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARYLearning plays an important role in food acquisition for a wide range of insects and has been demonstrated to be essential during flower foraging in taxa such as bees, parasitoid wasps, butterflies and moths. However, little attention has been focused on differences in floral cue learning abilities among species and sexes. We examined the associative learning of flower colour with nectar in four butterfly species: Idea leuconoe, Argyreus hyperbius, Pieris rapae and Lycaena phlaeas. All butterflies that were trained learned the flower colours associated with food. The flower colour learning rates were significantly higher in I. leuconoe and A. hyperbius than in P. rapae and L. phlaeas. Among the four species examined, the larger and longer-lived species exhibited higher learning rates. Furthermore, female butterflies showed a significantly higher learning rate than males. This study provides the first evidence that learning abilities related to floral cues differ among butterfly species. The adaptive significance of superior learning abilities in the larger and longer-lived butterfly species and in females is discussed.Key words: associative learning, forewing length, innate colour preference, Lepidoptera, lifespan. THE JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY3811 Learning rate differences in butterflies Idea leuconoe (Butler) (Danaidae)We used laboratory-reared individuals from the Itami City Museum of Insects, Itami, Osaka, Japan. Butterflies were originally collected in Ishikawa, Uruma, Okinawa, Japan. One to three larvae were reared in a 500ml or 860ml transparent plastic cup on fresh leaves of Parsonia alboflavescens (Dennstedt) Mabberley at 22-25°C and 15h:9h L:D in an incubation room. Argyreus hyperbius hyperbius (Linnaeus) (Nymphalidae)Adult females and larvae were obtained near the Nara campus of Kinki University, Nakamachi, Nara, Japan, from July to August 2004. Adult females were then allowed to oviposit eggs. About 10 larvae were reared together on fresh leaves of several Viola species in 450ml transparent plastic cups at room temperature (range of daily mean: 24-30°C) and natural daylength (range: 14h:10h L:D to 15.5h:8.5h L:D) within the laboratory. Pieris rapae crucivora (Boisduval) (Pieridae)Adult females and larvae ware collected near the Nara campus of Kinki University from September to October 2004. Adult females oviposited eggs, and the larvae were reared on fresh leaves of Brassica oleracea L. and Raphanus sativus L. in 450ml transparent plastic cups (10 larvae per cup) at room temperature (14-29°C) and natural daylength (12h:12h L:D to 14h:10h L:D) within the laboratory.

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Associative learning in honey bees

Cited by 95 publications

References 32 publications

Neuroligin-associated microRNA-932 targets actin and regulates memory in the honeybee

Neuroligin-associated microRNA-932 targets actin and regulates memory in the honeybee

Activity-Dependent Changes to the Brain and Behavior of the Honey Bee,Apis mellifera(L.)

Interspecific and intersexual learning rate differences in four butterfly species

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