How honey bees make fast and accurate decisions
- Department of Computer Science, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom
- Sheffield Neuroscience Institute, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom
- School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Australia
Figures
Figure 1
Bees’ behaviour in a colour discrimination task.
(A & B) Each bee was given 18 training trials in which she could choose between two different colours: one rewarded and the other punished. The bee was free to select each colour and return to the …
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Figure 1—source data 1
Bees’ choices during the training trials.
Tables show the number of bees’ correct and incorrect choices to the high and low rewarded stimuli during two different sequences of training trials were used (A: Protocol 1; B: Protocol 2). The blue cells indicate the number of reward bees received, whereas the red cells indicate the number of punishment bees received.
- https://cdn.elifesciences.org/articles/86176/elife-86176-fig1-data1-v2.xlsx
Figure 2 with 2 supplements
Characteristics of bee decision making.
(A) Matthew correlation coefficients (MCC) (mean ± SEM) for the easy discrimination and reduced evidence tests. In the both easy discrimination and reduced evidence tests, this correlation is …
Figure 2—figure supplement 1
Bees’ performance during the training.
(A, B) Bar graphs show the proportion of bees’ responses to high rewarded stimuli at each training trials (A: bees in Protocol 1; B: bees in Protocol 2). Below exhibit the stimuli presented at each …
Figure 2—figure supplement 2
Bees’ performance on the reduced reward likelihood test.
Bar shows mean proportion of choosing high-rewarded colour. Dashed line indicates performance expected at random. n=20.
Figure 3
An investigation by classical signal detection theory.
(A) Probability of responding to the high (blue) and low (green) rewarded stimuli at different levels of sensory input. For a trained bee we recognise a threshold (decision criterion, d.c.) at which …
Figure 4
Response times of bee decisions.
(A) Bees inspected the coloured stimuli prior to accepting or rejecting a colour. (B) The number of rejections was higher than the number of acceptances in the easy discrimination test. The …
Figure 5
Bees’ performance in the reduced reward likelihood test.
(A) In the reduced reward likelihood test bees made more rejection than acceptance responses. Bees accepted the highly-rewarded colour more than the low-rewarded colour, but there was no difference …
Figure 6
Models of decision-making.
(A) A simple model with independent accumulators and command cells for acceptance and rejection was not able to reproduce the features of bee decisions. Correct and incorrect choices were made at …
Figure 7
Neurobiologically-plausible model for honey bee foraging choices.
(A) The model shows the connectivity of the components of the minimum circuitry of bee decision-making, including sensory cells, two parallel accumulators, learning cells and motor commands (See …
Videos
Video 1
Sample video of honeybee in the test.
The video was captured from an overhead perspective, providing a clear view of the bees' movements within the flight arena, showcasing their reactions to various stimuli. The black lines depict the …
Tables
Table 1
Two different sequences of training trials were used.
10 bees were trained with the protocol P1 and 10 with the protocol P2.
| Protocol P1 | Protocol P2 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| #trials | colours at each trial | #trials | colours at each trial |
| 1 | S100% vs S66% | 1 | S50% vs S0% |
| 2 | S50% vs S0% | 2 | S100% vs S66% |
| 3 | S100% vs S33% | 3 | S100% vs S33% |
| 4 | S66% vs S0% | 4 | S66% vs S0% |
| 5 | S50% vs S33% | 5 | S100% vs S50% |
| 6 | S100% vs S50% | 6 | S50% vs S33% |
| 7 | S33% vs S0% | 7 | S100% vs S0% |
| 8 | S66% vs S50% | 8 | S33% vs S0% |
| 9 | S100% vs S0% | 9 | S66% vs S50% |
| 10 | S100% vs S66% | 10 | S100% vs S0% |
| 11 | S50% vs S0% | 11 | S50% vs S33% |
| 12 | S100% vs S33% | 12 | S66% vs S50% |
| 13 | S66% vs S0% | 13 | S33% vs S0% |
| 14 | S50% vs S33% | 14 | S100% vs S50% |
| 15 | S100% vs S50% | 15 | S66% vs S0% |
| 16 | S33% vs S0% | 16 | S100% vs S33% |
| 17 | S66% vs S50% | 17 | S100% vs S66% |
| 18 | S100% vs S0% | 18 | S50% vs S0% |
