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Bees trade off foraging speed for accuracy

Author

Listed:
  • Lars Chittka

    (Zoologie II, Biozentrum, Universität Würzburg
    Biological Sciences, Queen Mary, University of London)

  • Adrian G. Dyer

    (Zoologie II, Biozentrum, Universität Würzburg
    School of Orthoptics, Faculty of Health Sciences, La Trobe University)

  • Fiola Bock

    (Zoologie II, Biozentrum, Universität Würzburg)

  • Anna Dornhaus

    (Zoologie II, Biozentrum, Universität Würzburg
    School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol)

Abstract

Bees have an impressive cognitive capacity1,2,3,4, but the strategies used by individuals in solving foraging tasks have been largely unexplored. Here we test bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) in a colour-discrimination task on a virtual flower meadow and find that some bees consistently make rapid choices but with low precision, whereas other bees are slower but highly accurate. Moreover, each bee will sacrifice speed in favour of accuracy when errors are penalized instead of just being unrewarded. To our knowledge, bees are the first example of an insect to show between-individual and within-individual speed– accuracy trade-offs.

Suggested Citation

  • Lars Chittka & Adrian G. Dyer & Fiola Bock & Anna Dornhaus, 2003. "Bees trade off foraging speed for accuracy," Nature, Nature, vol. 424(6947), pages 388-388, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:424:y:2003:i:6947:d:10.1038_424388a
    DOI: 10.1038/424388a
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Elva J H Robinson & Nigel R Franks & Samuel Ellis & Saki Okuda & James A R Marshall, 2011. "A Simple Threshold Rule Is Sufficient to Explain Sophisticated Collective Decision-Making," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 6(5), pages 1-11, May.
    2. Dyer, A.G. & Dorin, A. & Reinhardt, V. & Garcia, J.E. & Rosa, M.G.P., 2014. "Bee reverse-learning behavior and intra-colony differences: Simulations based on behavioral experiments reveal benefits of diversity," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 277(C), pages 119-131.
    3. Rachel Arnon & Tamar Keasar & Dan Cohen & Avi Shmida, 2006. "Vertical Orientation and Color Contrast and Choices by Bumblebees (Bombus terrestris L.)," Levine's Bibliography 321307000000000608, UCLA Department of Economics.
    4. Rachel Arnon & Tamar Keasar & Dan Cohen & Avi Shmida, 2006. "Vertical Orientation and Color Contrast and Choices by Bumblebees (Bombus terrestris L.)," Discussion Paper Series dp439, The Federmann Center for the Study of Rationality, the Hebrew University, Jerusalem.
    5. Peter Cassey & Andrew Heathcote & Scott D Brown, 2014. "Brain and Behavior in Decision-Making," PLOS Computational Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(7), pages 1-8, July.
    6. Barbara Casillas-Pérez & Katarína Boďová & Anna V. Grasse & Gašper Tkačik & Sylvia Cremer, 2023. "Dynamic pathogen detection and social feedback shape collective hygiene in ants," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-14, December.
    7. Carla J. Essenberg & Rebekah A. Easter & Rachel A. Simmons & Daniel R. Papaj, 2015. "The value of information in floral cues: bumblebee learning of floral size cues," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 26(5), pages 1335-1344.
    8. Filip Gesiarz & Donal Cahill & Tali Sharot, 2019. "Evidence accumulation is biased by motivation: A computational account," PLOS Computational Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(6), pages 1-15, June.

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