Studies on Honey Bee (Apis mellifera L.) Behavior: Preferences for Ethanol Solutions and Sub-lethal Effects Of Two Insect Growth Regulators

Abstract

The two studies represented in this manuscript make the following attempts: 1) to further the development of a honey bee ethanol model for human alcoholism research by way of harnessed and free-flying assays; 2) to investigate the effects of insecticides considered harmless to honey bees on their ability to learn, using classical conditioning of the proboscis extension reflex as a learning paradigm. The ethanol study determined that honey bees do not have an aversion to ethanol at 1% and 5% concentrations, do not show a preference of alcohol or sucrose in 1% ethanol trials, but do show a slight preference to sucrose in 5% ethanol trials. The insecticide study indicated that both diflubenzuron and tebufenozide influence learning, but the greatest effect was observed when diflubenzuron was administered in small amounts throughout the training session.