Julie Benard and Martin Giurfa (2004) utilized the Honeybee Y maze in an experiment focusing on transitive inferences in honeybees to study learning and memory.
This Y-shaped apparatus features a UV-transparent Plexiglas ceiling to maintain natural daylight conditions inside the maze. A sliding door ensures that only one bee can enter the maze at a time. Visual stimuli are presented on the back walls, with only one of the two stimuli reinforced with sucrose solution; the non-reinforced stimulus includes an empty micropipette at its center.
Upon entering the maze, bees must pass through an entrance hole in the middle of the frontal panel to access the decision chamber. Within this chamber, bees must choose between the two arms of the maze.
Mazeengineers provides the Honeybee Y maze for experimental use.
