Abstract
The class Insecta of the phylum Arthropoda contains by far the largest assemblage of organisms in the animal kingdom, approximately 75% of all known living animal species being insect species (Ross, 1965). When the number of species, the large size of insect populations, and the extremely important effects which these populations have on other organisms are considered together, one might almost go so far as to say that the insects are the dominant life form on this planet. For these reasons, and also because of the importance of insects to agriculture and their role as vectors in the spread of disease, entomology has long been an important subdiscipline of zoology. However, entomological research has largely been directed toward establishing a satisfactory understanding of insect evolution and toward investigating those aspects of insect physiology which are directly related to the control of insect pests. Neither entomologists nor animal behaviorists have given the behavior of this extremely important group of animals the attention it deserves.
The author wishes to thank Professors Glenn Morris and David Gibo for their helpful advice and comments.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Alloway, T. M., 1969, Effects of low temperature upon acquisition and retention in the grain beetle, Tenebrio molitor, J. Comp. Physiol. Psychol., 69, 1–8.
Alloway, T. M., 1970, Methodological factors affecting the apparent effects of exposure to cold upon retention in the grain beetle, Tenebrio molitor, J. Comp. Physiol. Psychol., 72, 311–317.
Alloway, T. M., 1972, Retention of learning through metamorphosis in the grain beetle, Tenebrio molitor, Am. Zoologist, 12, 471–477.
Alloway, T. M., and Routtenberg, A., 1967, “Reminiscence” in the cold flour beetle (Tenebrio molitor), Science, 158, 1066–1067.
Aranda, L. C., and Luco, J. V., 1969, Further studies of an electric correlate to learning: Experiments in an isolated insect ganglion, Physiol. Behav., 4, 133–137.
Baxter, C., 1957, Habituation of the roach to puffs of air, Anat. Rec., 128, 521 (abst.).
Bitterman, M. E., 1960, Towards a comparative psychology of learning, Am. Psychologist, 15, 704–712.
Bitterman, M. E., 1965, The evolution of intelligence, Sci. Am., 212, 92–100.
Borsellino, A., Pieratoni, R., and Schietti-Cavazza, B., 1967, Persistenza nello stadio adulto di Tenebrio molitor (coleottero tenebrionide) de comportamenti indotti allo stato larvale, Atti Congr. Ann., Grouppo Naz. Cibernet. C.N.R., Pisa, pp. 29-36.
Borsellino, A., Pieratoni, R., and Schietti-Cavazza, B., 1970, Survival in adult mealworm beetles (Tenebrio molitor) of learning acquired at the larval stage, Nature (Lond.), 225, 963–964.
Brookshire, K. H., 1970, Comparative psychology of learning, in “Learning: Interactions” (M. H. Marx, ed.), pp. 290–364, Collier-Macmillan, Toronto.
Brown, B. M., and Noble, E. P., 1967, Cycloheximide and learning in the isolated cockroach ganglion, Brain Res., 6, 363–366.
Brown, B. M., and Noble, E. P., 1968, Cycloheximide, amino acid incorporation, and learning in the isolated cockroach ganglion, Biochem. Pharmacol., 17, 2371–2374.
Bullock, T. H., and Horridge, G. A., 1965, “Structure and Function in the Nervous Systems of Invertebrates,” W. H. Freeman, London and San Francisco.
Chapman, R. F., 1969, “The Insects: Structure and function,” English Universities Press, London.
Chauvin, R., 1947, Études sur le comportement de Blattella germanica dans divers types de labyrinthes, Bull. Biol. France Belg., 61, 92–128.
Cherkashin, A. N., Sheyman, E. M., and Stafekhina, V. S., 1968: O sokhanenii vremennikh svyazei oo nasekhomikh v protsesse metamorfoza (Conservation of conditioned reflexes during metamorphosis in insects), Zh. Evol. Biochim. Fiziol., 117-120.
Cushing, J. E., Jr., 1941, An experiment on olfactory conditioning in Drosophila guttifera, Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci., 50, 163–178.
Dethier, V. G., 1969, Feeding behavior of the blowfly, in “Advances in the Study of behavior” (D. S. Lehrman, R. A. Hinde, and E. Shaw, eds.), Vol. 2, Academic Press, New York.
Dethier, V. G., Solomon, R. L., and Turner, L. H., 1965, Sensory input and central excitation and inhibition in the blowfly, J. Comp. Physiol. Psychol., 60, 303–313.
Disterhoft, J. F., Nurnberger, J., and Corning, W. C., 1968, “P-R” differences in intact cockroaches as a function of testing interval, Psychon. Sci., 12, 205–206.
Disterhoft, J. F., Haggerty, R., and Corning, W. C., 1971, An analysis of leg position learning in the cockroach yoked control, Physiol. Behav., 7, 1026–1029.
Ebeling, W., Wagner, R. E., and Rierson, D. A., 1966, Influence of repellency on the efficacy of blatticides: I. Learned modification of behavior of the German cockroach, J. Econ. Entomol., 59, 1374–1388.
Edwards, J. S., 1969, Postembryonic development and regeneration of the insect nervous system, in “Advances in Insect Physiology” (J. W. L. Beament, J. E. Treherne, and V. B. Wigglesworth, eds.), Vol. 6, pp. 97–137, Academic Press, London.
Edwards, J. S., 1970, Neural control of development in arthropods, in “Invertebrate Nervous Systems: Their Significance for Mammalian Neurophysiology” (C. A. G. Wiersma, ed.), pp. 95–109, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Eisenstein, E. M., 1965, Effects of strychnine sulfate and sodium pentobarbitol on shock-avoidance learning in an isolated insect ganglion, Proc. Seventy-third Ann. Meeting Am. Psychol. Ass., pp. 127-128.
Eisenstein, E. M., 1968, Assessing the influence of pharmacological agents on shock avoidance in simpler systems, Brain Res., 11, 471–480.
Eisenstein, E. M., 1970a, A comparison of activity and position response measures of avoidance learning in the cockroach, Periplaneta americana, Brain Res., 21, 143–147.
Eisenstein, E. M., 1970b, The retention of shock avoidance learning in the cockroach, Periplaneta americana, Brain Res., 21, 148–150.
Eisenstein, E. M., 1971, Learning in isolated insect ganglia: A survey of procedures and results including some theoretical speculations and suggested experiments, in “Experiments in Physiology and Biochemistry” (G. Kerkut, ed.), Vol. 2, Academic Press, New York.
Eisenstein, E. M., and Cohen, M. J., 1965, Learning in an isolated insect ganglion, Anim. Behav., 13, 104–108.
Eldering, F. J., 1919, Acquisition d’habitudes par les insectes, Arch. Néerl. Physiol., 3, 469–490.
Evans, S., 1932, An experiment in maze learning in ants, J. Comp. Psychol., 14, 183–190.
Fox, R. M., and Fox, J. W., 1964, “Introduction to Comparative Entomology,” Reinhold, New York.
Freckleton, W. C., and Wahlstein, D., 1968, Carbon dioxide induced amnesia in the cockroach, Psychon. Sci., 12, 179–180.
Frings, H., 1941, The loci of olfactory end-organs in the blow-fly, Cynomyia cadaverina Desvoidy, J. Exptl. Zool., 88, 65–93.
Gates, M. F., and Allee, W. C., 1933, Conditioned behavior of isolated and grouped cockroaches on a simple maze, J. Comp. Psychol., 15, 331–358.
Glassman, E., Henderson, A., Cordle, M., Moon, H. M., and Wilson, J. E., 1970, Effect of cycloheximide and actinomycin D on the behaviour of the headless cockroach, Nature (Lond.), 225, 967–968.
Goustard, M., 1948, Inhibition de la photonégativité par le dressage, chez Blattella, Compt. Rend. Acad. Sci. (Paris), 227, 785–786.
Hershberger, W. A., and Smith, M. P., 1967, Conditioning in Drosophila melanogaster, Anim. Behav., 15, 259–262.
Hoagland, H., 1931, A study of the physiology of learning in ants, J. Gen. Psychol., 5, 21–41.
Hollis, J. H., 1963, Habituatory response decrement in pupae of Tenebrio molitor, Anim. Behav., 11, 161–163.
Horn, G., and Rowell, C. H. F., 1968, Medium and long-term changes in the behaviour of visual neurones in the tritocerebrum of locusts, J. Exptl. Biol., 49, 143–169.
Horridge, G. A., 1962a, Learning of leg position by headless insects, Nature (Lond.), 193, 697–698.
Horridge, G. A., 1962b, Learning of leg position by the ventral nerve cord in headless insects, Pro. Roy. Soc. (Lond.), BI57, 33–52.
Horridge, G. A., Sholes, J. H., Shaw, S., and Tunstall, J., 1965, Extracellular recordings from single neurons in the optic lobe and brain of the locust, in “The Physiology of the Insect Central Nervous System” (J. E. Treherne and J. W. L. Beament, eds.), pp. 165–202, Academic Press, New York.
Hoyle, G., 1965, Neurophysiological studies on “learning” in headless insects, in “The Physiology of the Insect Central Nervous System” (J. E. Treherne and J. W. L. Beament, eds.), pp. 203–232, Academic Press, New York.
Hoyle, G., 1970, Cellular mechanisms underlying behavior—Neuroethology, in “Advances in Insect Physiology” (J. W. L. Beament, J. E. Treherne, and V. B. Wigglesworth, eds.), Vol. 7, pp. 394–444, Academic Press, London.
Hullo, A., 1948, Rôle des tendances motrices et des données sensorielles dans l’apprentissage du labyrinthe par les blattes (Blattella germanica), Behaviour, 1, 297–310.
Hunter, W. S., 1932, The effect of inactivity produced by cold upon learning and retention in the cockroach, Blattella germanica, J. Genet. Psychol., 41, 253–266.
Imms, A. D., 1957, “A General Textbook of Entomology,” 9th ed., Methuen, London.
Kandel, E., Castellucci, V., Pinsker, H., and Kupfermann, I., 1970, The role of synaptic plasticity in the short-term modification of behaviour, in “Short-Term Changes in Neural Activity and Behaviour” (G. Horn and R. A. Hinde, eds.), pp. 281–322, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Kerkut, G. A., Oliver, G., Rick, J. T., and Walker, R. J., 1970, Biochemical changes during learning in an insect ganglion, Nature (Lond.), 227, 722–723.
Kimble, G. A., 1961, “Hilgard and Marquis’ Conditioning and Learning,” 2nd ed., Appleton-Century-Crofts, New Yrok.
Lanham, U., 1964, “The Insects,” Columbia University Press, New York.
Le Bigot, L., 1952, Réminiscence au cour d’un apprentissage moteur en fonction de la répétition de l’exercise chez Blattella germanica, Rev. Sci., pp. 254-258.
Le Bigot, L., 1954, Influence des sanctions sur l’acquisition et la retention chez Blattella germanica, J. Psychol. Norm. Pathol., 51, 327–335.
Lecompte, J., 1948, Recherches sur les faiteurs de la motivation chez Blattella germanica, Bull. Soc. Zool. France, 83, 215–220.
Longo, V., 1964, Probability learning and habit reversal in the cockroach, Am. J. Psychol., 77, 29–41.
Longo, V., 1970, A runway for the cockroach, Behav. Res. Methods instrumentation, 2, 118–119.
Manton, S. M., 1964, Mandibular mechanisms and the evolution of arthropods, Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. (Lond.), 247, 5–183.
Minami, H., and Dallenbach, K. M., 1946, The effect of activity upon learning and retention in the cockroach, Periplaneta americana, Am. J. Psychol., 59, 1–5
Mowrer, O. H., 1947, On the dual nature of learning—A re-interpretation of “conditioning” and “problem-solving,” Harvard Educ. Rev., 17, 102–148.
Murphy, R. K., 1967, Proprioception and learning of leg position in cockroaches, Unpublished masters thesis, cited by Eisenstein (1971).
Murphy, R. M., 1967, Instrumental conditioning of the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, Anim. Behav., 15, 153–161.
Murphy, R. M., 1969, Spatial discrimination performance of Drosophila melanogaster: Some controlled and uncontrolled correlates, Anim. Behav., 17, 43–46.
Nelson, M. C., 1971, Classical conditioning in the blowfly (Phormia regina): Associative and excitatory factors, J. Comp. Physiol. Psychol., 77, 353–368.
Niklaus, R., 1965, Die Erregung einzelner Fadenhaare von Periplaneta americana in Abhängikeit von der Grösse und Richtung der Anstenkung, Z. Vergl. Physiol., 50, 331–362.
Plath, O. E., 1924, Do anesthetized bees lose their memory? Am. Naturalist, 58, 162–166.
Pritchatt, D., 1968, Avoidance of electric shock by the cockroach, Periplaneta americana, Anim. Behav., 16, 178–185.
Pumphrey, R. J., and Rawdon-Smith, A. F., 1936, Synchronized action potentials in the cercal nerve cord of the cockroach (Periplaneta americana) in response to auditory stimuli, J. Physiol., 87, 4p–5p.
Pumphrey, R. J., and Rawdon-Smith, A. F., 1937, Synaptic transmission of nervous impulses through the last abdominal ganglion of the cockroach, Proc. Roy. Soc. (Lond.), BI22, 106–118.
Rabaud, E., 1926, Acquisition des habitudes et repères sensoriels chez les guepes, Bull. Sci. France Belg., 60, 313–333.
Razran, G. A., 1971, “Mind in Evolution: An East-West Synthesis,” Houghton-Mifflin, Boston.
Ross, H. H., 1965, “A Textbook of Entomology,” 3rd ed., Wiley, New York.
Routtenberg, A., Alloway, T. M., and Hill, W, F., 1968, Reply to Deutsch, Science, 160, 1024.
Rowell, C. H. F., 1970, Incremental and decremental processes in the insect central nervous system, in “Short-Term Changes in Neural Activity and Behaviour” (G. Horn and R. A. Hinde, eds.), pp. 237–280, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Rowell, C. H. F., and Horn, G., 1968, Dishabituation and arousal in the response of single nerve cells in an insect brain, J. Exptl. Biol., 49, 171–183.
Schneirla, T. C., 1929, Learning and orientation in ants, Comp. Psychol. Monogr., 6, 4.
Schneirla, T. C., 1933, Motivation and efficiency in ant learning, J. Comp. Psychol., 15, 243–266.
Schneirla, T. C., 1934, The process and mechanism of ant learning: The combination-problem and the successive-presentation problem, J. Comp. Psychol., 17, 303–328.
Schneirla, T. C., 1941, Studies on the nature of ant learning: I. The characteristics of a distinctive initial period of generalized learning. J. Comp. Psychol., 32, 41–82.
Schneirla, T. C., 1943, The nature of ant learning: II. The intermediate stage of segmental maze adjustment, J. Comp. Psychol., 34, 149–176.
Schneirla, T. C., 1953, Modifiability in insect behavior, in “Insect Physiology” (K. D. Roeder, ed.), pp. 723–747, Wiley, New York.
Schneirla, T. C., 1960, L’apprentissage et la question du Conflit chez la fourni—comparaison avec le rat, J. Psychol., 57, 11–44.
Schneirla, T. C., 1962, Psychological comparison of insect and mammal, Psychol. Beitrage, 6, 509–520.
Shepard, J., 1911, Some results in comparative psychology, Psychol. Bull., 8, 41–42.
Smith, D. S., and Treherne, J. E., 1963, Functional aspects of the organization of the insect nervous system, in “Advances in Insect Physiology” (J. W. L. Beament, J. E. Treherne, and V. B. Wigglesworth, eds.), Vol. 1, pp. 401–484, Academic Press, London.
Snodgrass, R. E., 1938, Evolution of Annelida, Onychophora, and Arthropoda, Smithsonian Misc. Coll., 97, 1–159.
Solomon, R. L., and Wynne, L. C., 1954, Traumatic avoidance learning: The principles of anxiety conservation and partial irreversibility, Psychol. Rev., 61, 353–385.
Szymanski, J. S., 1912, Modification of the innate behavior of cockroaches, J. Anim. Behav., 2, 81–90.
Thorpe, W. H., 1939a, Further studies on olfactory conditioning in a parasitic insect. The nature of the conditioning process, Proc. Roy. Soc. (Lond.), B126, 379–397.
Thorpe, W. H., 1939b, Further studies of pre-imaginal olfactory conditioning in insects, Proc. Roy. Soc. (Lond.), B127, 424–433.
Thorpe, W. H., 1943, Types of learning in insects and other arthropods, Brit. J. Psychol., 33, 220–234; 34, 20-31, 66-76.
Thorpe, W. H., and Jones, F. G. W., 1937, Olfactory conditioning and its relation to the problem of host selection, Proc. Roy. Soc. (Lond.), B124, 56–81.
Tiegs, O. W., and Manton, S. M., 1958, The evolution of Arthropoda, Biol. Rev., 33, 255–332.
Turner, C. H., 1912, An experimental investigation of an apparent reversal of responses to light of the roach (Periplaneta orientalis L.), Biol. Bull., 23, 371–386.
Turner, C. H., 1913, Behavior of the common roach (Periplaneta orientalis L.) on an open maze, Biol. Bull., 25, 348–365.
van der Heyde, H. C., 1920, Quelques observations sur la psychologie des fournis, Arch. Néerl. Physiol., 4, 259–282.
Verlaine, L., 1924, L’instinct et l’intelligence chez les hymenoptères: III. La reconnaissance du nid et l’éducabilité de l’odorate chez la Vespa germanica Fab., Ann. Soc. Roy. Entomol. Belg., 15, 67–117.
Verlaine, L., 1925, L’instinct et l’intelligence chez les hymenoptères: V. La traversée d’un labyrinthe par des guèpes et des bourdons (Vespa germanica Linn., V. crabro Linn., Bombus terrestris Linn., et B. sylvarum Linn.), Ann. Soc. Roy. Zool. Belg., 56, 33–98.
Verlaine, L., 1927, L’instinct et l’intelligence chez les hymenoptères: VII. L’abstraction, Bull. Ann. Soc. Entomol. Belg., 58, 59–88.
von Borell du Vernay, W., 1942, Assozionsbildung und Sensibilisierung bei Tenebrio molitor L., Z. Vergl. Physiol., 30, 84–116.
Vowles, D. M., 1964, Olfactory learning and brain lesions in the wood ant (Formica rufa), J. Comp. Physiol. Psychol., 58, 105–111.
Vowles, D. M., 1965, Maze learning and visual discrimination in the wood ant (Formica rufa), Brit. J. Psychol., 56, 15–31.
Walrath, L. C., 1970, Retention and interference in the beetle, Tenebrio molitor, Psychon. Sci., 18, 267–268.
Warden, C. J., Jenkins, T. N., and Warner, L., 1941, “Comparative Psychology: A Comprehensive Treatment,” Vol. II: “Plants and Invertebrates,” Ronald Press, New York.
Weiss, B. A., and Schneirla, T. C., 1967, Inter-situational transfer in the ant Formica schaufussi as tested in a two-phase single choice point maze, Behaviour, 28, 269–279.
Wheeler, W. M., 1928, “The Social Insects,” Harcourt, Brace, New York.
Zajonc, R. B., Heingartner, A., and Herman, E. M., 1969, Social enhancement and impairment of performance in the cockroach, J. Personal. Soc. Psychol., 13, 83–92.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1973 Plenum Press, New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Alloway, T.M. (1973). Learning in Insects Except Apoidea. In: Corning, W.C., Dyal, J.A., Willows, A.O.D. (eds) Invertebrate Learning. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-3009-7_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-3009-7_3
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-3011-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-3009-7
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive