Do Butterflies Remember Their Caterpillar Days?

Metamorphosis is one of the most amazing processes in nature. This event, which we can define as the transformation of an animal from one form to another, usually leads to a great change in the appearance and behavior of living things. Some of the best-known examples of metamorphosis go through four stages of development. butterflies and moths: eggs, larvae (caterpillar), pupa (chrysalis) and adult (butterfly).

In the pupal stage, the caterpillar’s body; completely rearranged to produce the adult butterfly or moth. Tissues and organs break down and is rebuilt, some parts are discarded or recycled. This begs the question in the title.

First we need to learn this: How does memory work in butterflies and moths?

Memory is the ability to store and recall information based on past experiences. short-term memory (lasting from seconds to minutes) and long-term memory (lasting days to yearsThis phenomenon, which can be divided into different types such as ) can also be classified according to how it is obtained: For example, declarative memory (involves conscious recall of facts and events) And non-declarative memory (involves the unconscious learning of skills and habits).

Butterflies and moths are relatively a simple nervous system Although they have some memory and learning capacity. connected by nerve cords ganglion They have a brain made up of several clusters of neurons called

The most important part of the brain for memory and learning is the cork body, which is involved in sensory processing, associative learning, and decision making. Mushroom body in both caterpillars It is found in both butterflies but undergoes significant changes during metamorphosis.

Whether the butterflies retain their memory after metamorphosis had to be tested.

Scientists have long wondered if butterflies and moths remember what they learned as caterpillars, but due to the drastic changes that occur during metamorphosis. it was difficult to test this hypothesis. In 2008, a research team from Georgetown University in the USA designed an ingenious experiment to answer this question.

Caterpillars can smell a certain odor (ethyl acetate) a light trained to associate it with electric shock, which allowed them to avoid this smell. They then waited for the caterpillars to develop into adult moths and tested whether they still remembered to avoid the same scent.

The results were surprising: Yes, butterflies remember their caterpillar times, but not in the way you might think.

Most adult moths are still against ethyl acetate, even if they have never encountered ethyl acetate in their adulthood. showed strong disgust. Although they have undergone a complete metamorphosis, showed that they retained a kind of memory from their caterpillar days.

Researchers have found that this type of memory not declarative, that is, it does not involve conscious recall but an automatic response based on past experience. they suggested. They also suggested that this memory is stored in the cork body, which is preserved during metamorphosis.

This study by Georgetown University has shown that butterflies and moths that they can remember what they learned as a caterpillar It was the first study to show, but not the last. Since then, other researchers have confirmed and extended this finding using different methods and species.

For example, a 2014 study showed that monarch butterflies can maintain their migratory orientation throughout metamorphosis; This, every year from North America to Mexico It helps them travel thousands of kilometers.

These studies show that metamorphosis is not a complete reset of the nervous system, but rather a process that allows some memories to be retained, while others to be erased or altered. a complex process revealed that.

As a result, according to the researches, we can say with certainty that yes, although butterflies remember their caterpillar times, this is not a conscious memorya reflex memory passed on through evolution.