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MAZE LEARNING AND VISUAL DISCRIMINATION IN THE WOOD ANT ( FORMICA RUFA )
Author(s) -
VOWLES D. M.
Publication year - 1965
Publication title -
british journal of psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.536
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 2044-8295
pISSN - 0007-1269
DOI - 10.1111/j.2044-8295.1965.tb00940.x
Subject(s) - generalization , psychology , diagonal , ant , artificial intelligence , communication , pattern recognition (psychology) , cognitive psychology , geometry , ecology , mathematics , computer science , mathematical analysis , biology
A technique is described for training ants in a T‐maze. The walls of the maze were covered with patterns which served as cues for the correct solution of the maze. These patterns were used to test the visual capabilities of the ant. It was found that ants would discriminate between vertical and horizontal stripes, and vertical and diagonal stripes, but not between diagonal stripes of opposite slope. In an experiment on generalization using vertical stripes of different widths, the ants appeared able to generalize satisfactorily. The implications of these experiments for insect pattern vision are discussed.