Different effects of reward value and saliency during bumblebee visual search for multiple rewarding targets

Nityananda, Vivek; Chıttka, Lars · 2021 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.1007/s10071-021-01479-3

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Summary

This study investigates how bumblebees allocate visual attention and make choices when foraging for multiple rewarding flower types in complex environments. While bee flower choice is well-documented, less is known about how bees prioritize targets based on physical saliency (color contrast against the background) versus reward value (sucrose concentration). The authors aimed to determine how these two factors, along with search history, influence visual search behavior, drawing parallels to human studies where reward value can capture attention even for less salient stimuli. The researchers conducted three experiments using individually tagged bumblebees trained to discriminate between two rewarding flower colors and distractor colors. In Experiment 1, bees chose between high-saliency and low-saliency flowers offering equal rewards. In Experiment 2, bees chose between high-reward (50% sucrose) and low-reward (30% sucrose) flowers with similar saliency. Experiment 3 combined these factors, pitting high-reward, low-saliency flowers against low-reward, high-saliency flowers. After training, bees were tested in a non-reinforced arena containing both target types and distractors. The authors analyzed choice proportions, sequence indices (measuring flower constancy), and search times. They also used video tracking to measure inspection times around specific flower types as a proxy for attention. The results demonstrated that bees generally preferred more salient or higher-rewarding flowers and effectively ignored distractors. In Experiment 1, bees significantly favored high-saliency targets. In Experiment 2, bees preferred high-reward targets, but this preference was modulated by training order; bees were more likely to choose high-reward targets if they had been trained on low-reward targets immediately prior to the test. Crucially, in Experiment 3, bees chose high-reward, low-saliency flowers as frequently as low-reward, high-saliency flowers. Furthermore, bees exhibited faster search times and spent more time inspecting high-reward flowers, indicating that reward value attracted attention despite lower physical saliency. Training order also influenced choices in this experiment, with recent exposure to a target type increasing its selection probability. These findings suggest that bumblebee visual search is influenced by both bottom-up processes (saliency) and top-down processes driven by reward value and recent search history. The ability of reward value to attract attention to less salient targets parallels findings in human visual search, indicating that reward-based attention mechanisms are not unique to humans. This study highlights the complexity of bee foraging behavior, showing that bees can flexibly prioritize targets based on learned reward values even when physical cues are suboptimal, and that recent experience significantly shapes immediate foraging decisions.

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• visual search