# Noxious stimulation induces self-protective behavior in bumblebees

## TL;DR

Bumblebees show self-protective behavior by grooming their noxiously stimulated antenna, suggesting they may respond to pain.

## Contribution

First empirical evidence that bumblebees exhibit self-protective behavior after noxious stimulation.

## Key findings

- Bumblebees groomed their noxiously stimulated antenna more than the untouched one.
- This grooming behavior occurred within the first 2 minutes after stimulation.
- The behavior was not observed with unheated probes or in untouched bees.

## Abstract

It has been widely stated that insects do not show self-protective behavior toward noxiously-stimulated body parts, but this claim has never been empirically tested. Here, we tested whether an insect species displays a type of self-protective behavior: self-grooming a noxiously-stimulated site. We touched bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) on an antenna with a noxiously heated (65°C) probe and found that, in the first 2 min after this stimulus, bees groomed their touched antenna more than their untouched antenna, and more than bees that were touched with an unheated probe or not touched at all did. Our results present evidence that bumblebees display self-protective behavior. We discuss the potential neural mechanisms of this behavior and the implications for whether insects feel pain.

•We demonstrated that bees show a form of self-protective behavior•Bees directed grooming toward their antenna that was touched with a heated probe•This self-protective behavior occurred in the first 2 min after stimulation

We demonstrated that bees show a form of self-protective behavior

Bees directed grooming toward their antenna that was touched with a heated probe

This self-protective behavior occurred in the first 2 min after stimulation

Zoology; Entomology; Neuroscience.