Editing Bee learning and communication (section)

==Color learning in bumblebees==

An American specialist in bee cognition, Dr. Felicity Muth, has studied the mechanism behind the associative learning in [[bumblebees]], specifically ''[[Bombus impatiens]]''. Bumblebees were shown to be able to learn multiple color-food associations and tended to continue to apply what they learned.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Muth |first1=Felicity |last2=Papaj |first2=Daniel |last3=Leonard |first3=Anne |title=Colour learning when foraging for nectar and pollen: bees learn two colours at once |journal=Biology Letters |date=1 September 2015 |volume=11 |issue=9 |doi=10.1098/rsbl.2015.0628|pmid=26423070 |pmc=4614436 |doi-access=free }}</ref> In another study, Dr. Felicity Muth continued to learn more about these associations. Bumblebees initially preferred yellow [[anthers]] and blue [[corolla (botany)|corollas]] when foraging for [[pollen]]. After this initial test, they began associating floral color with pollen success. The bumblebees' association between pollen and features of the [[anther]] and [[petal]] also showed that they discriminated between rewarding and unrewarding patterns. This knowledge persisted, both after 24 hours of learning and after 7 days.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Muth |first1=Felicity |last2=Papaj |first2=Daniel |last3=Leonard |first3=Anne |title=Bees remember flowers for more than one reason: pollen mediates associative learning |journal=Animal Behaviour |date=January 2016 |volume=111 |pages=93–100 |doi=10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.09.029|doi-access=free }}</ref> Dr. Muth's studies have also shown that bumblebees do not prefer nor choose against a flower based on its complexity. However, they will learn those unique traits if the reward, the pollen, is great enough.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Muth |first1=Felicity |last2=Keasar |first2=Tamar |last3=Dornhaus |first3=Anna |title=Trading off short-term costs for long-term gains: how do bumblebees decide to learn morphologically complex flowers? |journal=Animal Behaviour |date=March 2015 |volume=101 |pages=191–199 |doi=10.1016/j.anbehav.2014.12.024|s2cid=53200007 }}</ref>