Dispositif de conditionnement aversif testé chez les abeilles

Phototaxis aversive conditioning device for bees. This device comprises two compartments illuminated independently by 38 RGB (red, green, blue) LEDs. Bees do not see red light. The experiment makes use of bees’ innate phototaxis (attraction to light). It involves attracting the bee from a red compartment (which is dark for the bee) to a compartment illuminated in blue or green. Video analysis software is used to record the position of the bee over time. When the bee enters the illuminated compartment, it receives a weak electric shock. The bee then associates the disagreeable sensation of the electric shock with the colour. The two compartments are constantly red-illuminated, which makes it possible to film the experiment without the bee seeing light continuously. The primary variable measured is the time that the bee takes to enter the illuminated compartment. The more the bee learns and remembers, the more hesitant it is to go into the light. The experiment makes it possible to assess learning and memory in bees.