Quiz: Can You Make Better Decisions Than a Bumblebee? PopBiology Owl Apr 27, 2026 0 1. When a bumblebee lands on a Begonia flower, she faces four possible outcomes. Which of these represents a "false alarm"? Landing on a male flower and collecting pollen – a successful find Landing on a female flower expecting pollen and finding nothing – a costly mistake Skipping a male flower that actually had pollen – a missed opportunity Skipping a female flower with no pollen – a smart avoidance None 2. Researchers tested two interventions: adding a bitter quinine punishment to female flowers, and doubling the pollen reward on male flowers. What happened to bumblebee behaviour? Doubling the reward had the bigger effect – bumblebees flooded toward the high-reward flowers Both interventions had roughly equal effects on how bumblebees made decisions Neither intervention changed behaviour significantly – bumblebees stuck to their existing patterns The punishment had the far bigger effect – bumblebees became dramatically more selective and cautious None 3. Why did bumblebees consistently improve at rejecting female flowers more than they improved at approaching male flowers? Female flowers are visually easier to identify with experience Bumblebees have better memory for locations of empty flowers Loss aversion (the brain's bias to avoid losses more than seek gains) makes avoiding bad outcomes a higher priority for learning Male flowers provide diminishing returns over time None 4. Why do deceptive female Begonia flowers – which offer no reward – continue to survive and reproduce in nature? Bumblebees eventually habituate to the deception and stop penalising empty flowers Because bumblebees stay cautious and never flock to even the best flowers, deceptive mimics still receive enough accidental visits to get pollinated Male flowers actively repel bumblebees after too many visits, redirecting traffic toward females Female flowers occasionally develop small pollen rewards over time, maintaining bumblebee interest None 5. The research describes bumblebee decision-making as organised around which core priority? Maximising average gains across as many flowers as possible Visiting the highest number of flowers within a foraging window Avoiding the worst-case scenario rather than chasing the best possible outcome Locating and returning repeatedly to the single best flower patch available None Time's up
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