Trail Pheromone Does Not Modulate Subjective Reward Evaluation in Lasius niger Ants

Area of Science:

• Behavioral Ecology
• Insect Social Behavior
• Decision-Making

Background:

• Perceived value of options is crucial for decision-making, influenced by factors like expectations and social information.
• Social insects, including ants, exhibit value perception modulated by social cues, similar to humans.
• Pheromone trails are a key social information source in ants, guiding foraging and influencing behavior.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether pheromone trail presence affects the perceived value of a food source in the ant Lasius niger.
• To determine if social information via pheromones alters ant responses to food resources.

Main Methods:

• Conducted a series of experiments using Lasius niger ants and sucrose solutions.
• Assessed food acceptance, pheromone deposition, drinking time, and return foraging behavior (U-turns).
• Employed additional sensitive assays to detect subtle changes in food acceptance, avoiding ceiling effects.

Main Results:

• The presence of pheromone trails did not influence food acceptance by Lasius niger ants.
• Pheromone presence did not affect pheromone deposition, drinking time, or frequency of U-turns during foraging.
• Further sensitive assays confirmed no impact of pheromone trails on food acceptance.

Conclusions:

• Trail pheromone presence does not alter the perceived value of a food source in Lasius niger.
• Social information from pheromone trails does not modulate food resource evaluation in this ant species.
• Findings suggest a lack of influence of trail pheromones on value-based decision-making for food in Lasius niger.