Data from: Time perception-based decision making in a parasitoid wasp

The capacity of animals to measure time and adjust their behaviors accordingly has been a topic of interest in vertebrates, but little evidence is currently available for insects. This capacity has yet to be properly investigated in parasitoid wasps, even though they are frequently used to test ecological models. Here, using associative learning between odors and time intervals, we show that the parasitoid wasp Microplitis croceipes (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) has the capacity to measure time. When released in a wind tunnel, females flew toward an odor associated with the time interval they had just experienced. We also found that reducing energy expenditure by restraining parasitoid wasp movement during the training interval prevented time perception. This serves as experimental evidence of time perception in a parasitoid wasp, provides both a rare example of learning associated to a time interval in an insect and a mechanism by which these animals could optimize their behaviors, as well as suggesting a role for energy expenditure in its time perception mechanism.动物计时并据此调整行为的能力，一直是脊椎动物研究领域的热点议题，但目前针对昆虫的相关实证却极为匮乏。尽管寄生蜂（parasitoid wasp）常被用于生态模型的验证，但这类计时能力在寄生蜂类群中尚未得到充分探究。本研究借助气味与时间间隔的关联学习范式，证实寄生蜂类群中的Microplitis croceipes（膜翅目：茧蜂科）具备计时能力。在风洞环境中释放后，雌性寄生蜂会飞向与自身刚经历过的时间间隔相匹配的气味源。本研究还发现，在训练阶段通过限制寄生蜂活动以降低能量消耗，会阻断其计时感知能力。本研究不仅为寄生蜂的计时感知能力提供了实验实证，还为昆虫中罕见的时间间隔关联学习案例提供了研究范本，同时揭示了这类动物优化行为的潜在机制，并暗示能量消耗在其计时感知机制中所扮演的关键角色。