Learning speed and contextual isolation in bumblebees

摘要

Bumblebees will learn to approach one of a pair of patterns (a 45degrees grating) and to avoid the other (a 135degrees grating) to reach a feeder, and to do the opposite to reach their nest (approach a 135degrees grating and avoid a 45degrees grating). These two potentially competing visuo-motor associations are insulated from each other because they are set in different contexts. We investigated what training conditions allow the two sets of associations to be acquired without mutual interference.