Figure 3.

Above/below learning in honeybees [8]. (a) Training protocol. A group of bees were trained during 50 trials to fly into a Y-maze to choose black patterns on a white background. Patterns were a variable target disposed above/below a constant referent. Half of the bees were rewarded on the ‘target above referent’ relation whereas the other half was rewarded on the ‘target below referent’ relation. The referent was either the disc or the cross, depending on the group of bees trained. In the example shown, the referent is the cross and the relationship rewarded during training, indicated in pink, is ‘above’ (‘above the cross’). After training, three types of transfer tests were performed. (b) Performance in the transfer tests. ‘Correct choices’ indicate here choice of the previously rewarded relationship (‘above the cross’). Bees learned the concept of ‘above/below’ and transferred it to novel stimuli fulfilling the learned relationship (transfer test 1). Transfer tests 2 and 3 showed that neither the spatial location of the referent on the background nor the centre of gravity of stimuli was used as a discrimination cue to resolve the task.