Evidence for handedness in bumblebees
Evidence for handedness in bumblebees
The describe a simple study of how bumblebees (Bombus spp.) behave when visiting florets which are arranged in a circle around a vertical inflorescence. In four species of bees, individuals showed a tendency for rotation in the same direction around each inflorescence on successive visits, i.e., each individual tended to go either clockwise or anticlockwise. Similar behavior has also been observed in mammals including humans. The implications of this tendency to repeat tasks in the same way are discussed, particularly in relation to our understanding of the phenomenon known as flower constancy: In humans, the tendency for individuals to turn in a particular direction is strongly related to handedness. In three of the four bee species there was a significant overall tendency for the bees to rotate in a preferred direction, suggesting that they too may exhibit handedness.
bombus, rotation, foraging, nectar, handling, flower constancy
47-55
Kells, Andrea.R.
ba0f5719-affc-433b-844d-cb31d41675d8
Goulson, Dave
50da43d9-00ee-46c3-8107-fa8c67f7f4b5
January 2001
Kells, Andrea.R.
ba0f5719-affc-433b-844d-cb31d41675d8
Goulson, Dave
50da43d9-00ee-46c3-8107-fa8c67f7f4b5
Kells, Andrea.R. and Goulson, Dave
(2001)
Evidence for handedness in bumblebees.
Journal of Insect Behavior, 14 (1), .
(doi:10.1023/A:1007897512570).
Abstract
The describe a simple study of how bumblebees (Bombus spp.) behave when visiting florets which are arranged in a circle around a vertical inflorescence. In four species of bees, individuals showed a tendency for rotation in the same direction around each inflorescence on successive visits, i.e., each individual tended to go either clockwise or anticlockwise. Similar behavior has also been observed in mammals including humans. The implications of this tendency to repeat tasks in the same way are discussed, particularly in relation to our understanding of the phenomenon known as flower constancy: In humans, the tendency for individuals to turn in a particular direction is strongly related to handedness. In three of the four bee species there was a significant overall tendency for the bees to rotate in a preferred direction, suggesting that they too may exhibit handedness.
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Published date: January 2001
Keywords:
bombus, rotation, foraging, nectar, handling, flower constancy
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 57712
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/57712
ISSN: 0892-7553
PURE UUID: dd7d58eb-77a7-4d78-9c48-ce40b974119f
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Date deposited: 08 Aug 2008
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 11:08
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Author:
Andrea.R. Kells
Author:
Dave Goulson
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