Learning in an exotic social wasp while relocating a food source

LOZADA M.; D'ADAMO, P.

JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY (PARIS)

ELSEVIER SCI LTD

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2014 vol. 108 p. 187 - 193

0928-4257

In this paper we review several studies on Vespula germanica behavioral plasticity while relocating a foodsource in natural environments. This exotic social wasp, which has become established in many parts ofthe world, displays diverse cognitive abilities when foraging. Given its successful invasiveness worldwide,our initial hypothesis was that this species has great behavioral plasticity, which enables it to faceenvironmental uncertainty. In our work we have analyzed foraging behavior associated with undepletedresources. Throughout several experiments, rapid learning was observed in this species; after few learningexperiences they associate diverse contextual cues with a food source. However, by exploring waspbehavior when food suddenly disappeared, either because it had been removed or displaced, we foundthat they continued searching over a no longer rewarding site for a considerable period of time, suggestingthat past experience can hinder new learning. Particularly surprising is the fact that when food wasdisplaced nearby, wasps persisted in searching over the empty dish, ignoring the presence of food closeby. We propose that this species could be a suitable model for studying cognitive plasticity in relation toenvironmental uncertainty.