Re: Digger wasps
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphex(Includes the fantastic new term, "Sphexishness")
As an aside, it's my understanding that the human brain is capable of the many mysterious and incredible things it is, precisely because it
doesn't function quite like that. Our brains are far more adept at working with abstract concepts and "fudging" information into something usable. ...we're in fact so adept at this, that it's pretty much the only thing we're really good at, and we do it for a lot of inputs and functions that
really shouldn't be handled quite like that. This is how we end up with scenarios like putting a spoonful of instant coffee or something into a mug, and then pouring hot water into the tin instead of the mug.
Also, the snippet in that Wikipedia article mentions that the "endless reset" of even the wasp's behavior is somewhat disputed... Generally speaking, adaptive behavior is far more beneficial from a survival viewpoint than strictly defined task management.
But you do end up with funny things occasionally, like that experiment where a researcher glued stilts onto the legs of ants that were out exploring beyond the hill, leading to them completely overshooting the hill on the return trip and ending up completely baffled in the middle of nowhere because the internal pedometer they apparently use to keep track of where they are doesn't factor in changes in gait.
Summary of the experimentSlightly more in-depthForgot to mention my birthday here, it was on the 2nd.
Happy belated birthday!