CO2 narcosis influences the memory of honey bees

Carbon dioxide is a relatively inert gas produced as a by-product of cellular respiration and is often used during various experimental manipulations of bees, as well as in beekeeping practices. However, a high concentration of carbon dioxide can affect the fitness of insects and even shorten their lives. Here, we tested the impact of exposure to carbon dioxide on the memory of foraging bees by performing a field experiment to test the spatial orientation of bees in terms of their ability to return to the nest. Additionally, we performed two laboratory experiments designed to test the short- and long-term memory of workers. Carbon dioxide had a clear negative impact on both the short-term memory and, uniquely, the long-term memory of worker bees. The laboratory results were confirmed by the field study, in which the bees had difficulty finding their way back to the nest after treatment with carbon dioxide. These results indicate that the use of carbon dioxide on foraging workers in research experiments should be limited, as it can indirectly affect the results of scientific research as well as colony conditions.二氧化碳（Carbon dioxide）是一种相对惰性的气体，作为细胞呼吸的副产物生成，其常被应用于蜜蜂的各类实验操作以及养蜂实践当中。然而，高浓度的二氧化碳会影响昆虫的适合度，甚至缩短其寿命。本研究通过开展田间实验，以蜜蜂的回巢能力衡量其空间定向能力，进而探究二氧化碳暴露对觅食蜂记忆的影响。此外，我们还设计了两项室内实验，用以分别检测工蜂的短期记忆与长期记忆能力。结果显示，二氧化碳对工蜂的短期记忆与长期记忆均具有明确的负面影响，且对长期记忆的影响尤为显著。田间实验结果验证了室内实验的结论：经二氧化碳处理后的蜜蜂难以顺利返回蜂巢。上述结果表明，在科研实验中对觅食工蜂使用二氧化碳的行为应当加以限制，因为该操作不仅会间接影响科学研究结果，还会对蜂群状态造成不良影响。