Abstract
Associative differential conditioning is an experimental protocol where multiple stimuli are presented to an organism simultaneously, typically with one rewarded and the others unrewarded. An association is formed between the rewarded stimulus and the reward leading to biased behaviour in favour of that stimulus. I developed a novel automated associative conditioning T-maze apparatus that I utilised in two experiments involving different sensory modalities on bumble bees (Bombus terrestris). I investigated associative conditioning of coloured light with a sucrose reward in my first experiment as a proof-of-concept, and of artificial magnetic fields with a sucrose reward in my second experiment to investigate whether bumble bees are magnetoreceptive. Behavioural evidence for the detection of magnetic fields in bumble bees has remained enigmatic, despite plentiful evidence for other members of Hymenoptera.
Members of a bumble bee colony were able to associate coloured lights with a sucrose solution reward as measured by the colour associated with the first feeder visited in a T-maze during unrewarded tests. Members of a bumble bee colony were unable to associate artificial magnetic field poles with a sucrose solution reward, providing a lack of support for their ability to detect magnetic fields.
The automated associative conditioning apparatus I have developed can be modified for experiments on subjects throughout the animal kingdom and across various sensory modalities to investigate the processes involved in associative conditioning.