D3353: Complex odor learning in the ant Camponotus floridanus

Variation in hydrocarbon structures play a major role in nestmate recognition in ants. Variation in the hydrocarbon profile can be quantitative or qualitative; however, within the same species quantitative differences are more common. The natural hydrocarbon profile of an ant is extremely complex, made up of numerous hydrocarbons of varying concentrations. It remains unclear what ants are able to detect within the cuticular hydrocarbon profile. Camponotus floridanus ants were trained via differential conditioning to test discrimination between single hydrocarbons and mixtures of two with different concentrations (2A/1B and 1A/2B). As well as mixtures of four with different concentrations (High: 4A/2B,C,D and 4B/2A,C,D; and Low: 1A/2B,C,D and 1B/2A,C,D).  It is expected that the ants are able to learn mixtures of four, two, and one at varying concentration levels at the same ability.