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Insect Behavior

The document summarizes key points from a talk on insect behavior research. It discusses that while insects have smaller brains and shorter lifespans than other animals, they are still useful study subjects due to being relatively cheap and easy to work with. Insects are shown to be capable of learning, memory, and complex behaviors like symbolic communication. Their sensory abilities can match or exceed humans in some ways. The talk aims to dispel the notion that insects are simply "hard-wired robots" and argues they exhibit flexible behaviors adapted to predictability in their environments.

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78 views

Insect Behavior

The document summarizes key points from a talk on insect behavior research. It discusses that while insects have smaller brains and shorter lifespans than other animals, they are still useful study subjects due to being relatively cheap and easy to work with. Insects are shown to be capable of learning, memory, and complex behaviors like symbolic communication. Their sensory abilities can match or exceed humans in some ways. The talk aims to dispel the notion that insects are simply "hard-wired robots" and argues they exhibit flexible behaviors adapted to predictability in their environments.

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Insect

Behavior!
Anne Leonard
My research:

Bumble bee behavior
Plant-pollinator interac=ons
Floral signal evolu=on
EECB SPRING COLLOQUIUM

Learning, signals and


uncertainty:
Perspectives from
plant-insect
interactions
Daniel Papaj
Professor
University of Arizona
April 25th
Thursday,
4 pm
DMS 103
Thursday
!

4 pm
DMS 103
Western field cricket
Gryllus integer
Today
What makes study of insect behavior special?
Today
What makes study of insect behavior special?

Vs.
Lifespan?

(Many insects used heavily in


research do have short genera4on
4mes Experimental evolu4on)
Complexity of social interac=ons?
Complexity in general?
Brain size?
# neurons?
100,000

960,000 1,000,000,000 85,000,000,000


Is bigger always beUer?
Today
What makes study of insect behavior special?

Nothing*, really!

Vs.
Except that, in prac=cal terms, insects are:
-(O[en) cheaper and easier to study
-More opportuni=es for compara=ve studies
-O[en research funded by diverse en==es
(USDA; NIH; NSF; Bill & Melinda Gates Founda=on etc.)
It is certain that there may be extraordinary ac=vity
with an extremely small absolute mass of nervous
maUer; thus the wonderfully diversied ins=ncts,
mental powers, and aec=ons of ants are notorious,
yet their cerebral ganglia are not so large as the
quarter of a small pins head.

Under this point of view, the brain of an ant is one of
the most marvellous atoms of maUer in the world,
perhaps more so than the brain of man.

Charles Darwin 1871
Insects
Hard-wired robots

A tradi=onal and common view


Cogni=on?
(Decision-making, learning + memory)
Insects have
Short term (minutes) and long-term
memory (days/weeks)
Honeybees learn certain s=muli faster
than infants
Color learning faster than many
vertebrates
How to study insect learning and
memory?
(Many ways)

Sucrose reward Empty

Colors, paUerns, textures, scents, shapes,


Degrees of symmetry, temperatures, orienta=ons,
=mes of
day, spa=al loca=onsetc

% landings on

Landing number
Classical conditioning of the
Proboscis extension response
(P.E.R.)
Classical or Pavlovian condi=oning
Before training:
Unconditioned Stimulus Unconditioned Response
Presence of dog food Drooling

Presence of sucrose Proboscis extension

Bacteria in your food Nausea

During training:
Conditioned Stimulus + U.S. Unconditioned Response
Bell ringing + Presence of dog food Drooling
Scent or Color + Presence of sucrose Proboscis extension
Taste or smell of food + Bacteria in your food Nausea

After training:
Conditioned Stimulus Conditioned Response
Bell ringing Drooling Learning!
Scent or Color Proboscis extension
Taste or smell of food Nausea
Some insects have
The capacity to learn rules and generalize
them across sensory modali=es (color +
scent)
Delayed match-to-sample task



Some insects have
Sensory systems that match or surpass ours


Sensory systems can have
Similar degrees of sensi=vity to
wavelengths of light


Bees have similar degrees of sensi=vity
to wavelengths of light


Color vision
Jumping spiders
Video
Some insects have
Symbolic
communica=on:
The waggle dance


Some insects have
Symbolic
communica=on:
The waggle dance

Orienta=on = rela=ve to sun


Dura=on = distance
Insects
Hard-wired robots
More nuanced perspec=ve:

Just like most other organisms,
situa=ons where learning and
exibility pay o
And situa=ons in which an
innate response is more
A tradi=onal and ecient
common view
Expect learning to evolve when within-
genera=on predictability is HIGH and between
genera=on predictability is LOW
Within-genera=on predictability
Between-genera=on predictability
LOW HIGH
LOW
Nothing LEARN !
worth
learning
because
environment
experienced
by the Innate
HIGH individual is response
constantly will do just
changing ne

Stephens, 1991

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