Olfactory cues and decision making in a nectivorous ant

JOSENS, R.; GIACOMETTI, A.

Montevideo

Congreso; XII International Congress of Neuroethology; 2016

The International Society for Neuroethology

The use of olfactory cues has been extensively studied in social insects and its relevance for the biology of ants is well known. The nectivorous ant Camponotus mus forages on extrafloral nectaries or on homopteran honeydew. Foragers gather nectar and transport this food into the nest where it is distributed to their nestmates through trophallaxis, which is also involved in the recruitment of other foragers. Even when C. mus do not forage on flower nectar, a specific floral odor -linalool- is more easily learned than other odorants. We studied ants exposed to linalool during trophallaxis and then, we evaluated if this experience could affect subsequent decision making during foraging. Ants that experienced linalool during trophallaxis choose the correct arm in a Y-maze and also ingested more from a solution with this odor than other ants that experienced other odor during trophallaxis. We also present preliminary results of electrophysiological response of the antenna to linalool. In addition to their potential applications for improving sugary baits for ant controlling, these findings provide new insights about how ants make the decisions during foraging. Financial support: CONICET (PIP-112-201101-00472).