Eli5 : Does memory retain through processes like metamorphosis and if so, how?
In: Biology
Apparently, for a long time, the accepted theory was that insects – brains and all – are completely rewired during metamorphosis.
A study performed on Tobacco hornworm moths, however, demonstrated that butterflies (or moths, in that case) DO remember some caterpillar experiences.
What they did was this: they exposed the caterpillars to an unpleasant, smelly substance (ethyl acetate, often used in jail polish remover), and then administered a series of mild electric shocks. Later, when the caterpillars had turned into larvae, they still remembered that “smell = pain = bad” and, when given the choice, avoided crawling up any corridors that smelled of ethyl acetate. Now the interesting discovery was that even after metamorphosis into moths a month later, 77% of the specimens still remembered their “lesson” and avoided the smell!
Latest Answers