Data for "How foraging honeybees make fast and accurate decisions"

When bees navigate for nectar or pollen, they must continually assess the quality of their current observation and the uncertainty about future possibilities under evaluation of the expected reward and the risk of predators and energy cost. They necessitate employing an integrative process of decision-making to accomplish the highest profits. However, the mechanisms underpinning the decision making in animals with miniature brains is still mysterious. Here, we designed a multi-comparison ranking task for honeybees and video analysed their behaviours. Our results reveal honeybees’ choice behaviour is sensitive to both the quality and reliability of evidence. Degrading the evidence and reward likelihood influences time to choose. Importantly, our data suggests that acceptance and rejection are not two sides of the coin. Acceptance is more discriminating and costly for bees and bees spent longer time to accept a flower compared to their fast and less accurate rejections. To investigate the minimally sufficient circuitry required for honeybee foraging choice, we developed a novel model of decision-making. Our neurobiologically plausible model of the insect brain can account for these features by incorporating information about variability and other costs. In this study, we observed a complex autonomous decision making, but with a possibly minimal neural circuitry in bees that is highly applicable in designing the future robots.