Effects of nectar variance on learning by bumble bees

Abstract. The variation in standing crops of nectar among flowers within a species is usually very high. This nectar variance may decrease a forager's ability to estimate the mean reward offered by alternative plant species. Consequently, learning performance under high nectar variance may be reduced. To examine this prediction, bumble bees were tested for their abilities to learn to discriminate rewarding from non-rewarding flowers under four …