Neural Basis of a Pollinator’s Buffet: Olfactory Specialization and Learning in Manduca sexta

Abstract

A Varied Bouquet Pollinators display innate attractions to odor, but can also learn to associate odor with a nectar reward. Riffell et al. (p. 200 , published online 6 December; see the Perspective by Knaden and Hansson ) characterized the odor profile for flowers to which hawkmoths are innately attracted and found that the majority contain a distinct chemical profile, which is uniquely represented on their olfactory lobe. The moths could also be trained to associate nonattractive odors with a reward and thus learn novel odor attractions. Though learning altered neurons within the antennal lobe, the innate preferences were not changed.