(Press-News.org) Butterflies learn faster when a flower is rewarding than when it is not, and females have the edge over males when it comes to speed of learning with rewards. These are the findings of a new study, by Dr. Ikuo Kandori and Takafumi Yamaki from Kinki University in Japan. Their work, published online in Springer's journal Naturwissenschaften - The Science of Nature, is the first to investigate and compare the speed at which insects learn from both rewarding and non-rewarding experiences.
Learning is a fundamental mechanism for adjusting behavior to environmental change. In insects, there are three main types of learning: reward learning where insects develop a positive association between visual and/or olfactory cues and resources such as nectar; aversive learning where insects associate visual and/or olfactory cues with negative stimuli such as salt, shock and toxins; and non-reward learning where they associate the cues with the absence of rewards. To date, very few studies have explored non-reward learning in pollinator insects, including the butterfly Byasa alcinous.
In a series of four experiments, Kandori and Yamaki examined both the reward (nectar present) and non-reward (no nectar) learning abilities of the butterfly while foraging among artificial flowers of different colors. They also compared the reward and non-reward learning speeds.
They found that the butterfly learned to associate flower color, not only with the presence of nectar, but also with the absence of nectar. This demonstrates that the butterfly used both reward and non-reward learning while foraging on the flowers. In addition, the butterfly learned quicker via reward learning than it did via non-reward learning; and females learned faster than males.
These authors conclude: "Byasa alcinous can find rewarding flower species more efficiently via both reward and non-reward learning. Insects may initially visit a certain flower by innate preference. If this flower is rewarding, they quickly increase their focus on that flower species through reward learning. If the flower species is unrewarding and common, frequent visits to that flower species enhances non-reward learning to avoid that flower species. The butterfly can then identify new rewarding flower species with a reduced loss of energy and time, if it avoids foraging on such abundant, innately attractive but unrewarding flower species."
###
Reference
Kandori I & Yamaki T (2012). Reward and non-reward learning of flower colours in the butterfly Byasa alcinous (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidae). Naturwissenschaften – The Science of Nature; DOI 10.1007/s00114-012-0952-y
The full-text article is available to journalists on request.
Rewarding work for butterflies
Insects learn faster when they are rewarded with nectar
2012-08-01
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Controlling gene expression with hydrogen peroxide 'switches'
2012-08-01
Hydrogen peroxide doesn't just come in bottles from the drugstore – the human body makes it as well. Now researchers from North Carolina State University have found a way to use naturally occurring hydrogen peroxide inside cells to switch on gene expression. Their method also serves as a highly sensitive hydrogen peroxide detector, which may help scientists determine the molecule's role in cellular health and disease.
In a normally functioning cell, hydrogen peroxide serves as a messenger, carrying signals through a cell in order to allow the cell to respond to external ...
New FDA program adds to tools to curb opiod abuse in United States
2012-08-01
PHILADELPHIA -- A new risk management plan from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to help clinicians properly prescribe drugs with addiction potential aims to help reduce the growing epidemic of opioid abuse in the United States. With deaths associated with these drugs, often sold illegally, now reaching toward 14,000 each year – including the fatal shootings of two Philadelphia teenagers last week in a house where police found large quantities of Percocet and morphine, prescription drug pads, and more than $100,000 in cash -- the authors of a Viewpoint piece in the ...
Dartmouth theoretical physicists probe the Majorana mystery
2012-08-01
With headlines proclaiming the discovery of the Higgs boson—the so-called God particle—particle physics has captured the imagination of the world, particularly among those who dwell on the nature of the cosmos. But this is only one puzzle seemingly solved in a universe of mysteries. In a recent paper in Physical Review Letters, Dartmouth physicists delve into another enigmatic particle.
Majorana is a name whose very mention evokes a veil of mystery. On one level, it refers to a mysterious particle that may exist on the boundary of matter and antimatter. Curiously, it ...
Jailhouse phone calls reveal when domestic abusers most likely to attack
2012-08-01
COLUMBUS, Ohio – An analysis of jailhouse phone calls between men charged with felony domestic violence and their victims allowed researchers for the first time to see exactly what triggered episodes of violent abuse.
The findings showed that violence often immediately followed accusations of sexual infidelity made by one or both of the partners. Drug or alcohol use was often involved.
Researchers have long known that sexual jealousy played a general role in abuse, but this is the first time it was shown that it was a specific form of jealousy – infidelity concerns ...
Americans gaining more weight than they say
2012-08-01
SEATTLE – Despite the increasing awareness of the problem of obesity in the United States, most Americans don't know whether they are gaining or losing weight, according to new research from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.
Obesity increased in the US between 2008 and 2009, but in response to the questions about year-to-year changes in weight that were included in the most widespread public health survey in the country, on average, people said that they lost weight. Men did a worse job estimating their own weight changes ...
Medical complications in hospitalized children: The Canadian Paediatric Adverse Events Study
2012-08-01
More children experience complications or unintended injuries, especially related to surgery, in academic hospitals compared with community hospitals, but adverse events in the former are less likely to be preventable, according to the Canadian Paediatric Adverse Events Study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) (pre-embargo link only) http://www.cmaj.ca/site/press/cmaj112153.pdf.
Children are especially vulnerable to harms associated with medical care, such as medication errors, surgical complications and diagnostic errors.
A team of Canadian researchers ...
Study identifies barriers to breast health care in Pakistan
2012-08-01
Among most women in Pakistan, there is limited awareness of breast cancer occurrence, detection, and screening practices, or the importance of self-breast exams and clinical breast exams, according to a study in the August issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology. In Pakistan, breast cancer is the most common cancer affecting women and the incidence is rising. It is usually diagnosed in later stages and often at a younger age compared with populations in the West.
"Breast cancer care in limited-resource countries generally suffers because of multiple ...
Difficult to diagnose cases of infectious endocarditis solved with SPECT/CT imaging agent
2012-08-01
When combined with standard diagnostic tests, functional imaging procedures have been shown to reduce the rate of misdiagnosed cases of infectious endocarditis. According to new research published in the August issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine, single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)/computed tomography (CT) with 99mTc-hexamethylpropleneamine oxime-labeled white blood cells (99mTc-HMPAO-WBC) can improve the diagnosis of infectious endocarditis in hard-to-diagnose cases.
Infectious endocarditis is an infection of the lining of the heart chambers and ...
Wrinkled surfaces could have widespread applications
2012-08-01
CAMBRIDGE, MA -- The wrinkles on a raisin result from a simple effect: As the pulp inside dries, the skin grows stiff and buckles to accommodate its shrinking size. Now, a team of researchers at MIT has discovered a way to harness that same principle in a controlled and orderly way, creating wrinkled surfaces with precise sizes and patterns.
This basic method, they say, could be harnessed for a wide variety of useful structures: microfluidic systems for biological research, sensing and diagnostics; new photonic devices that can control light waves; controllable adhesive ...
Childhood defiance correlated with drug dependence
2012-08-01
This press release is available in French.MONTREAL, Canada, August 1, 2012 – Children who exhibit oppositional behavior run the risk of becoming addicted to nicotine, cannabis and cocaine whilst Inattention symptoms represent a specific additional risk of nicotine addiction. Nevertheless, hyperactivity in itself does not seem to be associated with any specific risk of substance abuse or dependence. This is what researchers at the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Center's (UHC) Research Center and the University of Montreal concluded following a 15-year population-based ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Hiring in high-growth firms: new study explores the timing of organizational changes
Boosting work engagement through a simple smartphone diary
Climate change may create ‘ecological trap’ for species who can’t adapt
Scientists create ChatGPT-like AI model for neuroscience to build one of the most detailed mouse brain maps to date
AI and omics unlock personalized drugs and RNA therapies for heart disease
2023 ocean heatwave ‘unprecedented but not unexpected’
Johns Hopkins researchers develop AI to predict risk of US car crashes
New drug combination offers hope for men with advanced prostate cancer
New discovery finds gene converts insulin-producing cells into blood-sugar boosters
Powerful and precise multi-color lasers now fit on a single chip
Scientists agree chemicals can affect behavior, but industry workers more reluctant about safety testing
DNA nanospring measures cellular motor power
Elsevier Foundation and RIKEN launch “Envisioning Futures” report: paving the way for gender equity and women’s leadership in Japanese research
Researchers discover enlarged areas of the spinal cord in fish, previously found only in four-limbed vertebrates
Bipolar disorder heterogeneity decoded: transforming global psychiatric treatment approaches
Catching Alport syndrome through universal age-3 urine screening
Instructions help you remember something better than emotions or a good night’s sleep
Solar energy is now the world’s cheapest source of power, a Surrey study finds
Scientists reverse Alzheimer’s in mice using nanoparticles
‘Good’ gut bacteria boosts placenta for healthier pregnancy
USC team demonstrates first optical device based on “optical thermodynamics”
Microplastics found to change gut microbiome in first human-sample study
Artificially sweetened and sugary drinks are both associated with an increased risk of liver disease, study finds
Plastic in the soil, but not as we know it: Biodegradable microplastics rewire carbon storage in farm fields
Yeast proteins reveal the secrets of drought resistance
Psychiatry, primary care, and OB/GYN subspecialties hit hardest by physician attrition
New Canadian study reveals where HIV hides in different parts of the body
Lidocaine poisonings rise despite overall drop in local anesthetic toxicity
Politics follow you on the road
Scientists blaze new path to fighting viral diseases
[Press-News.org] Rewarding work for butterfliesInsects learn faster when they are rewarded with nectar