New learning can then quickly spread throughout a colony, even if a different version is discovered.
The amazing behavioral repertoire of social insects is widely believed to be innate, but these insects have repeatedly demonstrated remarkable individual and social learning abilities, the Queen Mary University researchers note in their work published in the journal PLOS Biology (New Window). .
learn from others
The paper’s lead author, Alice Bridges, and her colleagues have developed a puzzle box that offers two ways to observe the transmission of novel, unnatural foraging behaviors in a population. The box could be opened by either pressing a red tab clockwise or by pressing a blue tab counterclockwise to gain access to a sugar solution.
“Demonstrator” specimens were trained under the eyes of “observer” bees to use the red or blue tabs.
Photo: Queen Mary University of London/Alice Bridges
Demonstrator specimens were trained to use the red or blue tabs under the watchful eye of the bees. When it was the observers turn to tackle the puzzle, they overwhelmingly chose the technique they saw, even after discovering the other option.
This preference for the taught option was maintained by whole colonies, with an average of 98.6% of box openings performed using the taught method, the authors note.
The experiment provides strong evidence that social learning drives the spread of bumblebee behavior, the researchers say.
Furthermore, other experiments in which two behavioral variants were initially present in similar proportions resulted in the dominance of a single variant.
We wonder whether these results, which reproduce those of primates and birds, indicate a culturability of bumblebees, Alice Bridges wonders.
Similar experimental results have been obtained in species such as primates and birds, suggesting that the latter, like humans, are capable of self-cultivation. If bumblebees are also able to do this, it could explain the evolutionary origin of many of the complex behaviors observed in social insects. It is possible that what now appears instinctive was, at least originally, socially learned, the scientists note in a statement published by the university.
“Bumblebees — and indeed invertebrates in general — are not known to exhibit culture-like behaviors in the wild. »
— A quote from Alice Bridges, Queen Mary University of London
Thus, if the behavioral repertoire of social insects like these bumblebees is usually thought of as instinctive, this work tends to show that social learning may have had a greater impact on the evolution of this behavior than previously thought.
Developing Civilizations
The fact that bees can observe and learn, and then make this behavior a habit, adds to the mounting evidence that they are far smarter creatures than many people give them credit for, adds Professor Lars Chittka of Queen Mary University of London added.
“We tend to overlook the ‘extraterrestrial civilizations’ formed on our planet by bees, ants and wasps because they are small and their societies and architectural designs seem at first glance to be governed by ‘instincts’. »
— A quote from Lars Chittka, Queen Mary University of London
However, our research shows that innovations like social media memes can spread through insect colonies, Professor Chittka adds. This reality shows that they can respond to entirely new environmental challenges much more quickly than through evolutionary changes that would take many generations to manifest.