Cognitive features in butterflies

[Michael Gochfeld]

Tired of hearing what people think NABA is for or against?

It's time for a new thread.


  Mary Beth wrote: 

Isn't it nice that butterflies don't think, much less expound on their
"misunderstood lot in life..."  Must be why they are so "popular."


How do we know that they don't think?

Don Griffin (of bat sonar fame) wrote a book ON ANIMAL AWARENESS in 
which he provided evidence (or was it interpretation) regarding 
cognitive capabilities of animals. It aroused a lot of media interest 
naturally---imagine imputing higher capacity to lower organisms.

To be sure most (maybe all) of the examples were in vertebrates. But 
maybe no one's asked butterflies whether they "think" at any level. 

They certainly have to make complex decisions in a hurry.  

Maybe thinking would be a serious disadvantage (see future paper on 
INDECISIVENESS IN THE LIFE OF BUTTERFLIES). 

Mike Gochfeld

 
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