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Howard SR, Dyer AG. Quantity misperception by hymenopteran insects observing the solitaire illusion. iScience 2024; 27:108697. [PMID: 38288356 PMCID: PMC10823103 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.108697] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2023] [Revised: 10/30/2023] [Accepted: 12/06/2023] [Indexed: 01/31/2024] Open
Abstract
Visual illusions are errors in signal perception and inform us about the visual and cognitive processes of different animals. Invertebrates are relatively less studied for their illusionary perception, despite the insight that comparative data provides on the evolution of common perceptual mechanisms. The Solitaire Illusion is a numerosity illusion where a viewer typically misperceives the relative quantities of two items of different colors consisting of identical quantity, with more centrally clustered items appearing more numerous. We trained European honeybees (Apis mellifera) and European wasps (Vespula vulgaris) to select stimuli containing a higher quantity of yellow dots in arrays of blue and yellow dots and then presented them with the Solitaire Illusion. Insects learnt to discriminate between dot quantities and showed evidence of perceiving the Solitaire Illusion. Further work should determine whether the illusion is caused by numerical cues only or by both quantity and non-numerical spatial cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scarlett R. Howard
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
| | - Adrian G. Dyer
- Department of Physiology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
- Institute of Developmental Biology and Neurobiology (iDN), Johannes Gutenberg University, 55122 Mainz, Germany
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Howard SR, Symonds MRE. Complex preference relationships between native and non-native angiosperms and foraging insect visitors in a suburban greenspace under field and laboratory conditions. THE SCIENCE OF NATURE - NATURWISSENSCHAFTEN 2023; 110:16. [PMID: 37140757 PMCID: PMC10160202 DOI: 10.1007/s00114-023-01846-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2023] [Revised: 03/23/2023] [Accepted: 04/18/2023] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
The introduction and spread of non-native flora threatens native pollinators and plants. Non-native angiosperms can compete with native plants for pollinators, space, and other resources which can leave native bees without adequate nutritional or nesting resources, particularly specialist species. In the current study, we conducted flower preference experiments through field observations and controlled binary choice tests in an artificial arena to determine the impact of field vs. laboratory methods on flower preferences of native bees for native or non-native flowers within their foraging range. We conducted counts of insect pollinators foraging on the flowers of three plant species in a suburban green belt including one native (Arthropodium strictum) and two non-native (Arctotheca calendula and Taraxacum officinale) plant species. We then collected native halictid bees foraging on each of the three plant species and conducted controlled binary tests to determine their preferences for the flowers of native or non-native plant species. In the field counts, halictid bees visited the native plant significantly more than the non-native species. However, in the behavioural assays when comparing A. strictum vs. A. calendula, Lasioglossum (Chilalictus) lanarium (Family: Halictidae), bees significantly preferred the non-native species, regardless of their foraging history. When comparing A. strictum vs. T. officinale, bees only showed a preference for the non-native flower when it had been collected foraging on the flowers of that plant species immediately prior to the experiment; otherwise, they showed no flower preference. Our results highlight the influence that non-native angiosperms have on native pollinators and we discuss the complexities of the results and the possible reasons for different flower preferences under laboratory and field conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scarlett R Howard
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, VIC, Australia.
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia.
| | - Matthew R E Symonds
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, VIC, Australia
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Fragoso FP, Brunet J. The decision-making process of leafcutting bees when selecting patches. Biol Lett 2023; 19:20220411. [PMID: 36789529 PMCID: PMC9929506 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2022.0411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2022] [Accepted: 01/30/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Change in land configuration is an important driver of pollinator decline. Understanding patch selection by bees in fragmented landscapes has therefore become imperative to guide the design of habitats that support pollinators and ensure their conservation. This is especially true for solitary bees that make up most bee species in the world. To elucidate the decision-making process of a solitary bee when selecting patches, we tested four models of patch attractiveness that differed in the role of patch size and isolation distance in the selection process. In these models, bees used both patch size and patch distance, only patch distance, or chose randomly among patches. When patch size was included, bees could estimate patch resources fully or partially. An experiment with a centre patch, surrounded by four peripheral patches of different sizes and distances from the centre, provided observed transition data to test against predictions derived from each of the models. The alfalfa leafcutting bee, Megachile rotundata, does not move randomly among patches. This bee uses both patch size and isolation distance when selecting a patch but can only evaluate patch resources partially. This knowledge can guide the design of habitats in fragmented landscapes to facilitate solitary bee conservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabiana P. Fragoso
- United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service Research Participation Program - Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), Madison, WI 53711, USA
| | - Johanne Brunet
- Vegetable Crops Research Unit, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Madison, WI 53711, USA
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Koethe S, Reinartz L, Heard TA, Garcia JE, Dyer AG, Lunau K. Comparative psychophysics of Western honey bee (Apis mellifera) and stingless bee (Tetragonula carbonaria) colour purity and intensity perception. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2022; 208:641-652. [PMID: 36269403 PMCID: PMC9734212 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-022-01581-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2022] [Revised: 09/13/2022] [Accepted: 09/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Bees play a vital role as pollinators worldwide and have influenced how flower colour signals have evolved. The Western honey bee, Apis mellifera (Apini), and the Buff-tailed bumble bee, Bombus terrestris (Bombini) are well-studied model species with regard to their sensory physiology and pollination capacity, although currently far less is known about stingless bees (Meliponini) that are common in pantropical regions. We conducted comparative experiments with two highly eusocial bee species, the Western honey bee, A. mellifera, and the Australian stingless bee, Tetragonula carbonaria, to understand their colour preferences considering fine-scaled stimuli specifically designed for testing bee colour vision. We employed stimuli made of pigment powders to allow manipulation of single colour parameters including spectral purity (saturation) or colour intensity (brightness) of a blue colour (hue) for which both species have previously shown innate preferences. Both A. mellifera and T. carbonaria demonstrated a significant preference for spectrally purer colour stimuli, although this preference is more pronounced in honey bees than in stingless bees. When all other colour cues were tightly controlled, honey bees receiving absolute conditioning demonstrated a capacity to learn a high-intensity stimulus significant from chance expectation demonstrating some capacity of plasticity for this dimension of colour perception. However, honey bees failed to learn low-intensity stimuli, and T. carbonaria was insensitive to stimulus intensity as a cue. These comparative findings suggest that there may be some common roots underpinning colour perception in bee pollinators and how they interact with flowers, although species-specific differences do exist.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Koethe
- Institute of Sensory Ecology, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Lara Reinartz
- Institute of Sensory Ecology, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | | | - Jair E. Garcia
- School of Media and Communication, RMIT University, Building 5.2.36, City Campus, GPO Box 2476, Melbourne, VIC 3001 Australia
| | - Adrian G. Dyer
- School of Media and Communication, RMIT University, Building 5.2.36, City Campus, GPO Box 2476, Melbourne, VIC 3001 Australia ,Department of Physiology, Monash University, Melbourne, 3800 Australia ,Institute of Developmental Biology and Neurobiology, Johannes Gutenberg Universität, Mainz, Germany
| | - Klaus Lunau
- Institute of Sensory Ecology, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
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Howard SR, Prendergast K, Symonds MRE, Shrestha M, Dyer AG. Spontaneous choices for insect-pollinated flower shapes by wild non-eusocial halictid bees. J Exp Biol 2021; 224:271069. [PMID: 34318316 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.242457] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2021] [Accepted: 07/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The majority of angiosperms require animal pollination for reproduction, and insects are the dominant group of animal pollinators. Bees are considered one of the most important and abundant insect pollinators. Research into bee behaviour and foraging decisions has typically centred on managed eusocial bee species, including Apis mellifera and Bombus terrestris. Non-eusocial bees are understudied with respect to foraging strategies and decision making, such as flower preferences. Understanding whether there are fundamental foraging strategies and preferences that are features of insect groups can provide key insights into the evolution of flower-pollinator co-evolution. In the current study, Lasioglossum (Chilalictus) lanarium and Lasioglossum (Parasphecodes) sp., two native Australian generalist halictid bees, were tested for flower shape preferences between native insect-pollinated and bird-pollinated flowers. Each bee was presented with achromatic images of either insect-pollinated or bird-pollinated flowers in a circular arena. Both native bee species demonstrated a significant preference for images of insect-pollinated flowers. These preferences are similar to those found in A. mellifera, suggesting that flower shape preference may be a deep-rooted evolutionary occurrence within bees. With growing interest in the sensory capabilities of non-eusocial bees as alternative pollinators, the current study also provides a valuable framework for further behavioural testing of such species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scarlett R Howard
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, VIC 3125, Australia
| | - Kit Prendergast
- School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, WA 6102, Australia
| | - Matthew R E Symonds
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, VIC 3125, Australia
| | - Mani Shrestha
- Disturbance Ecology, Bayreuth Center of Ecology and Environmental Research (BayCEER), University of Bayreuth, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany.,Faculty of Information Technology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
| | - Adrian G Dyer
- School of Media and Communication, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia.,Department of Physiology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
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Comparative psychophysics of colour preferences in two species of non-eusocial Australian native halictid bees. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2021; 207:657-666. [PMID: 34241711 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-021-01504-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2021] [Revised: 05/17/2021] [Accepted: 05/19/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Colour signalling by flowers appears to be the main plant-pollinator communication system observed across many diverse species and locations worldwide. Bees are considered one of the most important insect pollinators; however, native non-eusocial bees are often understudied compared to managed eusocial species, such as honeybees and bumblebees. Here, we tested two species of native Australian non-eusocial halictid bees on their colour preferences for seven different broadband colours with bee-colour-space dominant wavelengths ranging from 385 to 560 nm and a neutral grey control. Lasioglossum (Chilalictus) lanarium demonstrated preferences for a UV-absorbing white (455 nm) and a yellow (560 nm) stimulus. Lasioglossum (Parasphecodes) sp. showed no colour preferences. Subsequent analyses showed that green contrast and spectral purity had a significant positive relationship with the number of visits by L. lanarium to stimuli. Colour preferences were consistent with other bee species and may be phylogenetically conserved and linked to how trichromatic bees processes visual information, although the relative dearth of empirical evidence on different bee species currently makes it difficult to dissect mechanisms. Past studies and our current results suggest that both innate and environmental factors might both be at play in mediating bee colour preferences.
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