Intermodal blocking in honeybees

Previous findings of intramodal but not of intermodal blocking in foraging honeybees prompted a new series of experiments with colours, odours, a proximal visual landmark, and a localized geomagnetic anomaly as stimuli. In Experiments 1-2, the landmark was blocked by both colour and odour. In Experiments 3-6, the anomaly was blocked by both colour and odour, but the anomaly failed to block either colour or odour. In Experiments 7-8, the anomaly failed again to block either colour or odour even though it could be shown to develop substantial associative strength in the course of the training. The several instances of intermodal blocking bring the results for honeybees into closer agreement than before with the results for vertebrates. The failures of blocking seem understandable in terms of the relative salience of the stimuli employed without reference to modal relationships. An attentional interpretation is suggested.