Table 3.
The influence of prior experience on bumble-bee flower colour choice
| Prior experience | Flower type used | n | No. of blue flowers visited | P-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50B:50W | Natural painted | 30 | 22* | 0·008 |
| Natural not painted | 30 | 20* | 0·049 | |
| Artificial | 40 | 26* | 0·040 | |
| Blue only | Natural painted | 30 | 18 | 0·181 |
| Artificial | 40 | 22 | 0·318 | |
| White only | Natural painted | 20 | 12 | 0·252 |
| Artificial | 20 | 11 | 0·412 |
Bumble-bees were trained on either 50B:50W, all blue or all white flower arrays and tested using dual choice assays. Natural or artificial flowers were used in the dual choice tests. n indicated the number of trials.
The P-values are from binomial tests.
*Preference for blue flowers.