Opposite valence social information provided by bio-robotic demonstrators shapes selection processes in the green bottle fly

Abstract

Social learning represents a high-level complex process to acquire information about the environment, which is increasingly reported in invertebrates. The animal–robot interaction paradigm turned out to be an encouraging strategy to unveil social learning in vertebrates, but it has not been fully exploited in invertebrates. In this study, Lucilia sericata adults were induced to observe bio-robotic conspecific and predator demonstrators to reproduce different flower foraging choices. Can a fly manage two flows of social information with opposite valence? Herein, we attempt a reply. The selection process of L. sericata was affected by social information provided through different bio-robotic demonstrators, by avoiding coloured discs previously visited by a bio-robotic predator and preferring coloured discs previously visited by a bio-robotic conspecific. When both bio-robotic demonstrators visited the same disc, the latency duration increased and the flies significantly tended to avoid this disc. This indicates the complex risk–benefit evaluation process carried out by L. sericata during the acquisition of such social information. Overall, this article provides a unique perspective on the behavioural ecology of social learning in non-social insects; it also highlights the high potential of the animal–robot interaction approach for unveiling the full spectrum of invertebrates' abilities in using social information.

Robot-Fish Interaction Helps to Trigger Social Buffering in Neon Tetras: The Potential Role of Social Robotics in Treating Anxiety

“…isolating an individual of a social species and keep it in a new environment) the novel object investigation behaviour would be strongly inhibited, and neophobia, reduced exploration, or hesitancy would predominate [56,57]. Conversely, in our case the robotic fish had a very clear effect in reducing the anxiety behaviour of fish in these adverse conditions, supporting the idea that the artifact triggered social attraction in animals due to its recognizable biomimetic features, as also reported in previous studies on different taxa interacting with conspecific-mimicking robots [58,59]. Thus, we suggest that the effectiveness of robotic social stimuli in buffering anxiety is of particular relevance, since the robotic fish directly influenced fish individual behaviours by increasing their boldness thanks to a conspecific-like presence.…”

Insect-Inspired Robots: Bridging Biological and Artificial Systems

“…In [251], the capability of social wasps to learn the facial features of all colony members was demonstrated with the aim of identifying the colony's hierarchy as it relates to fighting skills. Some forms of social learning, commonly considered as high-level cognitive processes, are also reported in solitary insects species, such as crickets [252] or fruit flies [253] and recently have been shown also using robotic trainers [254]. This further outlines the added value in inspecting such forms of complex interaction capabilities in simple brains, from the engineering perspective aiming at building an insect brain model.…”

The Evolutionary Relevance of Social Learning and Transmission in Non-Social Arthropods with a Focus on Oviposition-Related Behaviors

“…Hetero-specific social information can thus also be transmitted from experienced to naive crickets [26], which can decrease predation risk. Hetero-specific social information was also found to increase the efficiency of locating food sources [103][104][105][106]. Although social information from heterospecifics is ubiquitous, it can be challenging to decode, for example because the cue may have had a different original meaning or purpose than what is interpreted by the receiving species [107][108][109][110].…”