Lifetime learning by foraging honey bees

Abstract. It is usually assumed that insects invest little in learning because of their short life span. However, the relative time and energy invested in learning should reflect the potential costs and benefits of learning regardless of absolute life span. As a first step in evaluating lifetime aspects of learning in insects, learning by individual honey bee, Apis mellifera , foragers was assessed based on their foraging success from inception of foraging until death. The net rate of forage uptake by new foragers was low and gradually increased to approximately twice the initial rate after a week of foraging. This period coincided with the median life span of the foragers. Hence, forager honey bees apparently spend a considerable portion of their life span learning and improving their foraging skills.