Behavioral strategies in ants in changing conditions of food motivation.

Learning in ants was studied in a multiple choice symmetrical maze at different levels of social food motivation. Myrmica rubra scout ants were found to be able to change their behavioral strategy rapidly when families were suddenly changed from a low level of motivation to a high level and vice versa. In the "sated" state, there was clearly evident investigative activity, which led to high levels of variability and instability in the maze habit.

Behavioral plasticity of Myrmica rubra ants during learning in a multi-alternative symmetrical labyrinth.

The problem of behavioral plasticity in insects was studied with red ants, Myrmica rubra, by altering a habit developed in a multi-alternative labyrinth with care for offspring as motivation. In altering the habit, location of reinforcement was changed: in the first series, the brood was transferred from the target areas to relatively symmetrical areas of the transverse axis of the labyrinth; in the second, reinforcement was left on one area that had not been preferred during learning of the target area. In both situations, the ants displayed the ability to alter labyrinth habits.