| Full text | |
| Author(s): |
da Silva, Rafael Carvalho
;
Aguiar, Joao Marcelo Robazzi Bignelli Valente
;
Oi, Cintia Akemi
;
Batista, Jaqueline Eterna
;
Gurfa, Martin
;
do Nascimento, Fabio Santos
Total Authors: 6
|
| Document type: | Journal article |
| Source: | ISCIENCE; v. 26, n. 4, p. 16-pg., 2023-04-21. |
| Abstract | |
In contrast to extensive investigations on bee cognition, the cognitive capacities of wasps remain largely unexplored despite their key role as pollinators and predators of insect pests. Here we studied learning and memory in the neotropical wasp Mischocyttarus cerberus using a Pavlovian conditioning in which harnessed wasps respond with conditioned movements of their mouthparts to a learned odorant. We focused on the different castes, sexes, and ages coexisting within a nest and found that adults of M. cerberus learned and memorized efficiently the odor-sugar associations. In contrast, newly emerged females, but not males, were unable to learn odorants. This difference concurs with their different life-style as young males perform regular excursions outside the nest while young females remain in it until older age. Our results thus highlight the importance of socioecological constraints on wasp cognition and set the basis for mechanistic studies on learning differences across ages and castes. (AU) | |
| FAPESP's process: | 18/22461-3 - Searching for the missing link: the eggs act as an alternative vehicle of communication in social systems? |
| Grantee: | Rafael Carvalho da Silva |
| Support Opportunities: | Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate |
| FAPESP's process: | 21/05598-8 - The evolution of caste plasticity and caste dimorphism in insect societies |
| Grantee: | Fábio Santos do Nascimento |
| Support Opportunities: | Regular Research Grants |
| FAPESP's process: | 18/10996-0 - An Evo-Devo perspective on reproductive division of labour in wasps |
| Grantee: | Fábio Santos do Nascimento |
| Support Opportunities: | Regular Research Grants |