The Associative Learning Effect on Foraging Behavior of the Butterfly Danaus chrysippus

WANG Hua; LI Cheng-zhe; CHEN Xiao-ming; YAO Jun; ZHOU Cheng-li; SHI Lei

[Objective] To determine the learning ability of Danaus chrysippus (Linnaeus,1758), [Method] Two kinds of solutions were used to study the associative learning in pupal and adult stage. One is the solution of α-pinene mixed with honey, the other is pure honey solution. [Result] The adults, treated with α-pinene solution in the pupal stage, showed higher selection ratio (66.67%) on mixture solution than pure honey solution (33.33%); By learning from 1 to 6 days, the adults exhibited the same behavior that they prefer mixed solution to the pure honey solution, the selection rate were 80% and 20% respectively. It is found that the longer the duration of learning, the higher the selection rate of mixed solution. [Conclusion] The pupa and adult of D. chrysippus gained stronger learning ability after training, and the longer the butterfly learns, the more profound memory it will gain; Yet, there was no significant difference in adult selection of mixture solution between the first and the following times, which might be related to whether the D. chrysippus was hungry.

1. Research Institute of Resources Insects, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Key Laboratory of Breeding and Utilization of Resource Insect, State Forestry Administration, Kunming 650224, Yunnan, China

Received Date: 2016-03-21

Abstract: [Objective] To determine the learning ability of Danaus chrysippus (Linnaeus,1758), [Method] Two kinds of solutions were used to study the associative learning in pupal and adult stage. One is the solution of α-pinene mixed with honey, the other is pure honey solution. [Result] The adults, treated with α-pinene solution in the pupal stage, showed higher selection ratio (66.67%) on mixture solution than pure honey solution (33.33%); By learning from 1 to 6 days, the adults exhibited the same behavior that they prefer mixed solution to the pure honey solution, the selection rate were 80% and 20% respectively. It is found that the longer the duration of learning, the higher the selection rate of mixed solution. [Conclusion] The pupa and adult of D. chrysippus gained stronger learning ability after training, and the longer the butterfly learns, the more profound memory it will gain; Yet, there was no significant difference in adult selection of mixture solution between the first and the following times, which might be related to whether the D. chrysippus was hungry.

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Reference (21)

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The Associative Learning Effect on Foraging Behavior of the Butterfly Danaus chrysippus

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