Effect of Reinforcement Duration on Response Rate of Stingless Bees (Melipona quadrifasciata anthidioides)

Studies with bees typically observe one response to the experimental apparatus per visit, as the bee returns to the hive after filling its honey vesicle. This reduces the sample of the behavior of interest, posing analytical and methodological challenges for studying certain processes. The present study aimed to explore a procedure and its theoretical analysis to promote larger samples of behavior per visit in an experimental chamber. The procedure consisted of fractionating the amount of syrup consumed to increase the number of bar-press responses per visit by Melipona quadrifasciataanthidioides stingless bees. Experimental subjects were taught to press a bar for access to a 30-s syrup solution (average time to fill the honey vesicle). Once stability was achieved, the syrup was fractionated (i.e., reduced) based on duration. Durations of 6, 10, 15, and 30 s were applied as consequences for bar pressing. When syrup access was fractionated, experimental subjects continued responding to the bar during the same visit, returning to the hive after vesicle filling. Fractionation of access to syrup increased the response rate. We suggest that manipulating the duration of syrup introduces a second-order schedule, similar to a token system. This exploration has implications for behavioral management in experiments aimed at investigating operant behavior in meliponas bees.