Excerpts from a new paper show that the conventional notion that insects are behaviorally hardwired is being questioned and  learning in social insects is being explored

> Learning in insects has received relatively little research attention probably on the assumption that insect behaviour is guided mainly by instincts (Dukas, 2008). However, it is becoming widely accepted that learning processes play a crucial role in behavioural decisions made by insects (Leadbeater & Chittka, 2007). More specifically, it is evident that the innate behaviours of insects, as of mammals, are flexible and prone to change as a result of previous learning experiences. 

> Notably, the examples we provide in this review indicating plasticity in the values of reproductive pheromones are all derived from experiments carried out under laboratory conditions. Our current knowledge about how widespread such modifications are under natural conditions is seriously limited. Nevertheless, it is reasonable to assume that such flexibility is crucial for the survival and reproductive fitness of the organism, allowing rapid adjustments to constantly changing environments

>  We argue that responses to pheromones are far more easily modified by experience than would be expected from hardwired innate responses, and that the behaviours they elicit are chiefly plastic and sensitive to modification throughout life by sensory-mediated emotional experience.

Beny, Y., & Kimchi, T. (2014). Innate and learned aspects of pheromone-mediated social behaviours. Animal Behaviour.

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