Honey bees transfer olfactory memories established during flower visits to a proboscis extension paradigm in the laboratory

To see what effects learning in one context can exercise upon subsequent learning in other contexts the relation between olfactory learning performance of honey bees, Apis melliferaL., in a restrained classical conditioning paradigm for the proboscis extension reflex and chemosensory experience under natural circumstances was investigated. The effects of food-source odours and of the hive's odour on subsequent laboratory proboscis extension performance were tested. There was a transfer effect for odours from a food source to proboscis extension reflex conditioning in the laboratory: bees extended their proboscis in response to food-source odour and showed resistance to its extinction. Hive odour had no detectable effect. Thus, the observed transfer effect for food-source odours was likely to be caused by memories established during foraging rather than by within-hive experience with the scent of harvested food. The observed transfer effect for odours from a food source thus points to a surprisingly weak role of context for the retrieval of olfactory memories established during foraging. Furthermore, it offers an experience-based explanation for variability in honey bee proboscis extension learning.