Pasquier, G;
Pull, CD;
Ott, SR;
Leadbeater, E;
(2025)
A neural correlate of learning fails to predict foraging efficiency in the bumble bee Bombus terrestris.
Animal Behaviour
, 219
, Article 123012. 10.1016/j.anbehav.2024.10.026.
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Abstract
Mushroom bodies (MB) are integrative structures in the insect brain that, in social bees, contribute to both visual and olfactory learning. Changes in the density of presynaptic boutons (or microglomeruli) within the calyx region of the MB have been linked to various aspects of foraging, including forms of learning that are believed to be key in supporting foraging efficiency. Here, we directly tested the relationship between foraging efficiency and microglomerulus density in a bumble bee model, Bombus terrestris. We found no evidence for microglomerulus density predicting real-world foraging performance, nor any relationship with foraging experience. Instead, our data suggest a potential nonlinear relationship between an individual's age, which is independent of foraging experience, and microglomerulus density in the lip region of the calyx, which is associated with olfactory processing. Our findings suggest that in real-world scenarios there is no simple direct relationship between microglomerulus density, learning ability and foraging efficiency in bumble bees, highlighting the knowledge gap regarding the relationships between learning abilities, neuroanatomy and foraging efficiency.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | A neural correlate of learning fails to predict foraging efficiency in the bumble bee Bombus terrestris |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.anbehav.2024.10.026 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2024.10.026 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/4.0/). |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences > Genetics, Evolution and Environment |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10203027 |
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