Could pre-imaginal olfactory experiences modify the post-metamorphic behavior in a social insect?

RAMIREZ, GABRIELA; ARENAS, ANDRÉS; FARINA WM

Huerta Grande

Congreso; 26 Congreso Anual SAN; 2011

Sociedad Argentina de Neurociencias

Could pre-imaginal olfactory experiences modify the post-metamorphic behavior in a social insect? Ramírez, Gabriela P.; Arenas, Andres and Farina, Walter M. Grupo de Estudio de Insectos Sociales, Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental, IFIBYNE-CONICET, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales- Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina. gabiramirez@bg.fcen.uba.ar   In honeybee colonies the information of exploited resources is transferred among nest mates through mouth-to-mouth trophallaxis events. These social interactions also involve larvae as food recipients. We wonder if appetitive olfactory experiences that occur during pre-imaginal stages influence post-metamorphic odor-mediated responses. To answer this question we tested learning performance and memory retention in adults of 3/5 days of age that underwent a pre-imaginal experience. Such experience was done by means of a scented-sucrose solution offered inside the hive and tested under the proboscis extension response (PER) paradigm in the lab. Results showed that pre-imaginal experience increased the PER-levels toward the pre-exposed odor suggesting retention of information gained prior to the adult emergence. Interestingly, high response levels to novel odors were also found accordingly to perceptual similarities between pre-exposed odor and different novel odors, resembling a generalization process in the tested adults. Finally, we found that even those bees that did not respond to the pre-exposed odor improved their learning performance in a PER-conditioning. Thus, pre-imaginal experiences might allow bees to assess food information very early in life with consequences in their learning abilities during adult stage .