Memory span for heterospecific individuals' odors in an ant, Cataglyphis cursor

Foubert, Emmeline; Nowbahari, Elise

doi:10.3758/lb.36.4.319

Cited by 12 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…More problematic are the claims of the presence of long-term olfactory memory in ants based on serious misconceptions about insect memory. It has recently been argued, for instance, that Cataglyphis cursor ants can establish a LTM of the individual odour of a heterospecific ant Camponotus aethiops as they can 'discriminate it from the odour of an unfamiliar individual after at least 30 min, which is considered to be LTM for an insect' (Foubert and Nowbahari, 2008). Obviously, the claim that a 30 min period corresponds to LTM in insects is wrong (Menzel, 1999).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differential conditioning and long-term olfactory memory in individual Camponotus fellah ants

Josens

Eschbach

Giurfa

2009

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARYIndividual Camponotus fellah ants perceive and learn odours in a Y-maze in which one odour is paired with sugar (CS+) while a different odour (CS-) is paired with quinine (differential conditioning). We studied olfactory retention in C. fellah to determine whether olfactory learning leads to long-term memory retrievable 24 h and 72 h after training. One and 3 days after training, ants exhibited robust olfactory memory through a series of five successive retention tests in which they preferred the CS+ and stayed longer in the arm presenting it. In order to determine the nature of the associations memorized, we asked whether choices within the Y-maze were driven by excitatory memory based on choosing the CS+ and/or inhibitory memory based on avoiding the CS-. By confronting ants with a novel odour vs either the CS+ or the CS-we found that learning led to the formation of excitatory memory driving the choice of the CS+ but no inhibitory memory based on the CS-was apparent. Ants even preferred the CS-to the novel odour, thus suggesting that they used the CS-as a contextual cue in which the CS+ was embedded, or as a secondorder cue predicting the CS+ and thus the sugar reward. Our results constitute the first controlled account of olfactory long-term memory in individual ants for which the nature of associations could be precisely characterized.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differential conditioning and long-term olfactory memory in individual Camponotus fellah ants

Josens

Eschbach

Giurfa

2009

Journal of Experimental Biology

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“…Individuals that are not familiar (not encountered before) will not be accepted, irrespective of whether they are related or not. In ants, there are very few examples of individual recognition, which could be based on this mechanism (d’Ettorre and Heinze, 2005; Foubert and Nowbahari, 2008). Ant queens of Pachycondyla villosa are able to recognize each others individually (d’Ettorre and Heinze, 2005).…”

Section: Recognition Mechanismsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Cataglyphis niger ants, repeatedly encountering a non-nestmate are less aggressive against this specific individual in subsequent encounters than against non-familiar non-nestmates (Nowbahari, 2007; Foubert and Nowbahari, 2008). The authors rule out deposition of hydrocarbons as an explanation, and suggest that learning plays a role in this process (Foubert and Nowbahari, 2008).…”

Section: How Is the Template Acquired?mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Recognition of Social Identity in Ants

Bos¹,

d’Ettorre²

2012

Front. Psychology

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Recognizing the identity of others, from the individual to the group level, is a hallmark of society. Ants, and other social insects, have evolved advanced societies characterized by efficient social recognition systems. Colony identity is mediated by colony specific signature mixtures, a blend of hydrocarbons present on the cuticle of every individual (the “label”). Recognition occurs when an ant encounters another individual, and compares the label it perceives to an internal representation of its own colony odor (the “template”). A mismatch between label and template leads to rejection of the encountered individual. Although advances have been made in our understanding of how the label is produced and acquired, contradictory evidence exists about information processing of recognition cues. Here, we review the literature on template acquisition in ants and address how and when the template is formed, where in the nervous system it is localized, and the possible role of learning. We combine seemingly contradictory evidence in to a novel, parsimonious theory for the information processing of nestmate recognition cues.

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“…This type of mechanism requires that each individual must be encountered to become familiar, and thus the recognition process takes place at individual level. There are few examples of individual recognition in social insects, which could be based on this mechanism (Tibbetts 2002;d'Ettorre and Heinze 2005;Dreier et al 2007;Foubert and Nowbahari 2008). Usually, individual/familiar recognition could work only in small societies, such as those of primitively eusocial wasps (e.g., Polistes and Stenogastrinae wasps), in which visual cues are used for the discrimination process (Tibbetts 2002;Baracchi et al 2013Baracchi et al , 2015.…”

Section: Recognition Mechanismsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ontogeny of Nestmate Recognition in Social Hymenoptera

Signorotti

Cervo

d’Ettorre

2015

Social Recognition in Invertebrates

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The ability to discriminate between friends and foes is a central feature of social life. In social insects, nestmate recognition is mediated by colony specific cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) (label) that are perceived by an individual and compared with its neural representation of the colony odour (template). Although numerous advances have been made in understanding the identity, origin and production of recognition cues in social hymenoptera, relatively little is known about the ontogeny of nestmate recognition, and the learning processes that might be involved. It appears that wasps and bees learn the recognition cues required for template formation from their nest/comb odour, while ants learn principally from their nestmates. In general, the referent template is learned during the early stages of adult life, although pre-imaginal learning might play a role. The CHC blend can change over time; cue-exchange among nestmates is therefore needed to reduce chemical variability among individuals and to integrate environmental compounds into the colony odour. As a result of this process, the referent template is updated during life. This relative plasticity of the recognition system can be exploited by insect social parasites to integrate themselves within the host colonies and to fool host workers about their real identity. By studying the chemical integration strategies of social parasites new insights on the ontogeny of nestmate recognition could be acquired. However, further studies are needed to reveal the neural substrates implicated in learning and memory at different stages of social insect life to better understand how and when template formation occurs.

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Memory span for heterospecific individuals' odors in an ant, Cataglyphis cursor

Cited by 12 publications

References 24 publications

Differential conditioning and long-term olfactory memory in individual Camponotus fellah ants

Differential conditioning and long-term olfactory memory in individual Camponotus fellah ants

Recognition of Social Identity in Ants

Ontogeny of Nestmate Recognition in Social Hymenoptera

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