Stereotype and plasticity in the development of instinctive patterns

Abstract

Progressive exploration of plasticity limits in the development of instinctive patterns has led us to a study comparing the self cleaning behavior ontogenesis in flies, under several conditions, following eclosion. Special attention was devoted to those variations and constancies that could reveal the degree of complexity of the behavioral organization in these insects, We found support for the view that what is selected is the plasticity of the system, that is, the possibility of adjustement to varied conditions during ontogeny. The emission of"vaccum" movements, the subsequent development of"substitute" patterns, and the potencial alternations between these categories under certain circumstances, suggested several ideas concerning the ontogenesis, which seem to be incompatible with the conception of a simple and stereotyped behavioral organization, even for instinctive behavioral patterns of insects.