Bee Training

Do this experiment to test how well bees recognise patterns – and see if you can fool them! You’ll need about a week (and a bit more fine weather) to do this project, with time to check your homemade bee feeder every day.

You will need:

5 index cards, 5 small dishes, 5 ziplock bags, 4 tablespoons (approx 60 grams) of sugar,

a black marker, 200mls water

Instructions

1. On each of the index cards, draw a simple shape with the marker. (You might draw a star, circle, cross, triangle, and square.) Make the shape big enough to cover most of the card and fill in the shape so that it’s solid black. When you’re done, stick each card inside a ziplock. This will protect it from being ruined outside.

2. Set the bags outside in a flat, sunny spot where they won’t be disturbed. Make sure the shapes are facing up. Each one should be placed a couple feet away from the others. If you live in a windy area, use rocks or a stake to hold down the bags!

3. Mix up some sugar water, the “nectar” that will attract bees and other insects. (Real nectar, from flowers, is a similar sugary liquid.) Heat the water until it’s about to boil (the easiest way is to microwave it for 60-90 seconds). Then stir in the sugar until it’s dissolved. Pour the sugar water into one of the small dishes; fill the other four with plain water. Set a dish outside by each of the ziplocks. Make sure you remember which dish has the sugar water!

4. During the next few days, keep track of what kinds of insects visit the dishes.  How many days does it take before bees find the one with sugar water?

A few days after you’ve seen bees at the sugar water dish, switch cards so that the shape that was next to the sugar water is now by a dish of plain water.

What happens in the next two days? Do the bees come straight to the sugar water, or do they land on the dish with the card that used to be next to the sugar water?   Now leave the cards where they are, but switch the sugar water dish with another dish of plain water. How do the bees respond?

What’s Happening?

Have you ever wondered how bees and butterflies know where to find good feeding spots? These insects don’t have sharp vision, but they see polarised light (which tells them direction based on where the sun is) and patterns of ultraviolet light on bright-coloured flowers with lots of nectar.

Bees also recognize man-made patterns; sometimes beekeepers put a symbol on a new hive so their bees can remember which is the right one.

Taking it further:

While you watch the bees’ reaction, keep an eye on other insects, too. Do butterflies and ants respond the same way? Did one kind of insect seem to have an easier time re-locating the sugar water? Try the experiment using different-coloured circles, instead of different shapes. Did any of the results change? Do insects seem to recognize colours as well as shapes? Have fun finding out.

Thanks to, and adapted from, hometrainingtools.com

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