Open AccessInnovation in solitary bees is driven by exploration, shyness and activity levels
Author(s) -
Miguel Á. Collado,
Randolf Menzel,
Daniel Sol,
Ignasi Bartomeus
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of experimental biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.367
H-Index - 185
eISSN - 1477-9145
pISSN - 0022-0949
DOI - 10.1242/jeb.232058
Subject(s) - boldness , shyness , cognition , task (project management) , relevance (law) , cognitive psychology , psychology , perception , uncorrelated , cognitive science , personality , social psychology , neuroscience , anxiety , management , psychiatry , political science , law , economics , statistics , mathematics
Behavioral innovation and problem solving are widely considered important mechanisms by which animals respond to novel environmental challenges, including those induced by human activities. Despite its functional and ecological relevance, much of our current understanding of these processes comes from studies in vertebrates. Understanding these processeses in invertebrates has lagged behind partly because they are not perceived to have the cognitive machinery required. This perception is however challenged by recent evidence demonstrating sophisticated cognitive capabilities in insects despite their small brains. Here, we study innovation, understood as the capacity of solving a new task, of a solitary bee (Osmia cornuta) in the laboratory by exposing naïve individuals to an obstacle removal task. We also studied the underlying cognitive and non-cognitive mechanisms through a battery of experimental tests designed to measure associative learning, exploration, shyness and activity levels. We found that solitary bees can innovate, with 11 of 29 individuals (38%) being able to solve a new task consisting in lifting a lid to reach a reward. However, the propensity to innovate was uncorrelated with the measured learning capacities, but increased with exploration, boldness and activity. These results provide solid evidence that non-social insects can solve new tasks, and highlight the importance of interpreting innovation in the light of non-cognitive processes.