Summary
Recruited workers of the leaf-cutting antAcromyrmex lundi learn the odour of the food fragment initially carried by a successful scout, and use this cue as a decision criterion during food collection. Citral, a natural deterrent odour, can also be associated as a food signal, showing how powerful olfactory learning is in this species. The role of both food-odour learning and a previously reported leaf-marking pheromone during diet selection by leaf-cutting ants is discussed.
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Roces, F. Odour learning and decision-making during food collection in the leaf-cutting antAcromyrmex lundi . Ins. Soc 41, 235–239 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01242294
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01242294