Innate colour preferences of a hawkmoth depend on visual context.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Kuenzinger W
PROVIDER: S-EPMC6451377 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Innate colour preferences of a hawkmoth depend on visual context.
Kuenzinger William W Kelber Almut A Weesner Jordan J Travis Jonathan J Raguso Robert A RA Goyret Joaquín J
Biology letters 20190301 3
Solitary insects that feed on floral nectar must use innate knowledge to find their first flower. While innate preferences for flower colours are often described as fixed, species-specific traits, the nature and persistence of these preferences have been debated, particularly in relation to ontogenetic processes such as learning. Here we present evidence for a strong context-dependence of innate colour preferences in the crepuscular hawkmoth Manduca sexta. Contrary to expectations, our results s ...[more]
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