Honey Bee Memory & Intelligence

Memory and Intelligence

As we have seen from the behaviours described above, the honeybee displays surprising levels of intelligence for such a small insect. We have seen that foragers are able to remember the location of food sources in relation to the hive. They are also able to remember the times of day when these food sources are at their best. Furthermore they can remember the colour and scent of the best food sources, i.e. the appearance of the flowers which provide the best pollen and nectar. It seems the that the memory trace for colour is formed on arrival at the flower. The last 3 seconds of the approach to the flower are the crucial moments for memory formation. The flower colour initially enters short-term memory and is only later converted to long-term memory. This is very similar to memory formation in higher mammals. If the short-term memory is disrupted, for example by application of an electric shock, the memory will not be retained long-term. Long-term memories can be retained for more than six months. Foragers emerging for the first time after a winter of hibernation will proceed directly to flowerbeds known from the previous summer.

Experiments have been carried out which have shown that honeybees are also capable of learning complex tasks such as finding their way through a maze. When the walls of a maze were painted with coloured dots to indicate the best path from the starting point to the food source, the bees learnt to follow the dots. To test whether the bees were remembering the spatial layout of the maze or actually following the dots, the maze was changed and a different path of dots was painted. The bees were found to immediately follow the new path. Once a path had been learnt, however, the dots could be removed and the bees could continue to find their way using spatial memory alone.

In addition to memory we have seen that honeybees are capable of language. The dance language is considered the third most complicated language known to exist in nature. This is after the languages used by humans and that suspected to be used by dolphins. The dance language is certainly unique amongst invertebrates. It is clear that much of the honeybee behavioural repertoire is pre-programmed as instinct. The basic tools used for navigation and communication are all hardwired. It is onto this framework that the many memories unique to each individual are hung. Despite this capacity for memory and their canny navigational ability, honeybees are probably not capable of true intelligent insight. They are certainly not conscious in the way higher mammals are. Their behaviour, amazing as it is, most likely emerges from the interaction of lots of little rules which have been fine tuned by evolution over many millennia.