Unité Dynamiques des Systèmes Anthropisés, Dpt de Psychologie, Université de Picardie - Jules Verne, Chemin du Thil, F-80025 Amiens, Cedex 1, France.
J Neurosci Methods. 2010 May 15;188(2):235-42. doi: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2010.02.013. Epub 2010 Feb 19.
The experimental study of nectar foraging behavior in free-flying bees requires the use of automated devices to control solution delivery and measure dependent variables associated with nectar gathering. We describe a new computer-controlled artificial flower and provide calibration data to measure the precision of the apparatus. Our device is similar to a "Skinner box" and we present data of an experiment where various amounts of a 50% sugar solution are presented randomly to individual bees. These data show large individual variations among subjects across several dependent variables. Finally, we discuss possible applications of our device to problems in behavioral sciences.
在自由飞行的蜜蜂的花蜜觅食行为的实验研究中，需要使用自动化设备来控制溶液的输送并测量与花蜜采集相关的因变量。我们描述了一种新的计算机控制的人工花，并提供了校准数据来测量该仪器的精度。我们的设备类似于“斯金纳箱”，我们提供了一个实验的数据，其中向单个蜜蜂随机呈现不同量的 50%糖溶液。这些数据显示了在几个因变量中，个体之间存在很大的个体差异。最后，我们讨论了我们的设备在行为科学问题上的可能应用。
