Learning improves growth rate in grasshoppers

To quantify the adaptive significance of insect learning, we documented the behavior and growth rate of grasshoppers (Schistocerca americana) in an environment containing two artificial food types, one providing a balanced diet of protein and carbohydrate, which maximizes growth, and the other being carbohydrate-deficient, which is unsuitable for growth. Grasshoppers in the Learning treatment experienced a predictable environment, where the …