Habituation and dishabituation of exploratory and appetitive responses in the honey bee (Apis mellifera L.)

Sucrose-induced antennal and proboscis motor responses of the honey bee were comparatively studied using muscle responses. The activity of the proboscis muscle responses was correlated with sucrose stimulus concentration, but that of antennal muscle responses was not. Both responses habituated following repetitive stimulation with a low sucrose concentration and dishabituated upon stimulation with a high sucrose concentration. Despite the different response properties of the responses, their habituation kinetics were indistinguishable. The absence of sensory adaptation was confirmed by taste hair recordings. The potential for habituation was related to the functions of the responses studied. The exploratory antennal response used for continuous sampling of the environment habituated to a smaller extent than the appetitive proboscis response.