Data from: Honey bees modulate their olfactory learning in the presence of hornet predators and alarm component

In Southeast Asia the native honey bee species Apis cerana is often
attacked by hornets (Vespa velutina), mainly in the period from April to
November. During the co-evolution of these two species honey bees have
developed several strategies to defend themselves such as learning the
odors of hornets and releasing alarm components to inform other mates.
However, so far little is known about whether and how honey bees modulate
their olfactory learning in the presence of the hornet predator and alarm
components of honey bee itself. In the present study, we test for
associative olfactory learning of A. cerana in the presence of predator
odors, the alarm pheromone component isopentyl acetate (IPA), or a floral
odor (hexanal) as a control. The results show that bees can detect live
hornet odors, that there is almost no association between the innately
aversive hornet odor and the appetitive stimulus sucrose, and that IPA is
less well associated with an appetitive stimulus when compared with a
floral odor. In order to imitate natural conditions, e.g. when bees are
foraging on flowers and a predator shows up, or alarm pheromone is
released by a captured mate, we tested combinations of the hornet odor and
floral odor, or IPA and floral odor. Both of these combinations led to
reduced learning scores. This study aims to contribute to a better
understanding of the prey-predator system between A. cerana and V.
velutina.