Cognitive features in butterflies

[spm23 at cornell.edu]

Actually, Cheryl Hienz just finished up her Ph.D. here at Cornell on 
learning in Spicebush Swallowtails.  She did a number of different 
experiments designed to test whether or not females could "learn" 
oviposition cues based on previous exposure to different host plants.
  
Her thesis provides strong evidence that the swallowtails
she was working with respond to volatiles and tactile information when 
making oviposition decision.  I forget some of the details but she 
found that they preferred the volatiles from one host plant and the 
tactile chemicals of the other plant she tested.  She made a "super" 
host plant by combining the two and the butterflies definitely 
(significantly) prefered the new menu.  Anyway, just thought you might 
like to know that someone is thinking, and working, along these lines.

-Sean Mullen

On Thu, 14 Jun 2001, Michael Gochfeld wrote:

> 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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