Mechanisms of communication and foraging in select insects – new research opportunities

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We plan to study the biosynthetic origin, sensory reception, neuronal processing and behavioral effect of multi-modal signals and cues in 5 insect species that offer particularly intriguing research opportunities, as follows: (1) Having recently shown that bed bugs use a unique 6-component aggregation pheromone, we will test the hypothesis that 4 components stem from biosynthetic precursors in human blood. (2) Honey bees can sense local geomagnetic fields. We will test the hypothesis that the bees’ magnetic sense is based on single-domain ferromagnetic particles and plays a crucial role in their life history. (3) Bilateral symmetry with paired sense organs is common in all animals that depend on a comparison between left and right sensory input to locate prey or mates. We will test the hypothesis that the short-lived males of the strepsipreran Xenos peckii can “map” even a “3-dimensional odor space” when seeking a mate in a mobile host wasp. In high-speed films, we noticed that males project the branches of their bifurcated antennae in all directions. If, as predicted, olfactory receptor neurons from each antennal branch were to converge onto separate primary olfactory centers in the brain, then males could form a 3-dimensional “road map” to the microlocation of a mate. (4) In eusocial insects, individuals give up reproduction to help rear offspring of relatives. One explanation for this reproductive altruism emphasizes costs and benefits. Taking photo- and thermographs of a paper wasp nest, we noticed one wasp being much warmer than her nest mates. This “hot” wasp may have been the nest’s guard on high alert to mount an immediate attack if needed. We will test the hypothesis that wasps save energy by assigning the energetically-costly guarding duty to few select nest mates. (5) Host and mate recognition cues between parasitoid wasps at the 3rd and 4th trophic level have hardly been studied. We have recently shown that males of Pimpla disparis, a primary parasitoid of gypsy moth (pre)pupae, sense parasitized pupae, memorize their location, visit them frequently, track developmental progress, and arrest on them when a prospective mate (PM) nears emergence. Both females and males of Theronia atalantae, a hyperparasitoid of P. disparis, also arrest on gypsy moth pupae parasitized by P. disparis, suggesting that both female and male T. atalantae, like male P. disparis, respond to sound and vibratory cues from a prospective host or mate inside a gypsy moth pupa. We will test the hypotheses that (a) female T. atalantae rely on vibratory host cues to sense gypsy moth pupae parasitized by P. disparis; (b) male T. atalantae exploit characteristics of vibratory cues to discern between gypsy moth pupae containing a P. disparis pre-pupa or a prospective T. atalantae mate; and (c) P. disparis PMs discern between the cues associated with a visiting P. disparis male (prospective mate) and a T. atalantae female (prospective enemy).