Honeybee workers with higher reproductive potential have a greater learning ability

Abstract

Learning ability, which allows individuals to adjust their behaviour to changing environmental conditions, has a considerable positive impact on individual fitness. However, in addition to benefits, learning also incurs a cost, which means that investment in learning and maintaining learned skills can lead to trade-offs impacting other biological functions. Here, we tested whether a trade-off exists between learning skills and reproductive potential in honeybee workers. For this purpose, we compared learning ability between two groups of workers that differed in reproductive potential—normal and rebel workers. The results showed that workers with high reproductive potential (rebels), measured according to the number of ovarioles in the ovary, learned faster than normal workers with low reproductive potential. Moreover, by performing separate regression analyses within the rebel and non-rebel worker groups, we found that the reproductive potential of workers was positively correlated with their learning ability. The results show that in honeybees, there is no trade-off in resource allocation between two costly biological functions, learning and reproduction.