Molecular Genetics of Insect Behavior 11.2 Introduction
Insect behavior covers a very wide range of activities, including locomotion, grooming, feeding, communication, reproduction, dispersal, flight, learning, migration, host or prey selection, diapause, and various responses to environmental hazards such as temperature, humidity, parasites, and toxins (Beck, 1980; Alcock, 1984; Tauber et al., 1986; Gatehouse, 1997; Bazzett, 2008; Ikeno et al., 2011). Understanding the behavior of pest and beneficial insects could improve pest-management programs (Renou and Guerrero, 2000; Bendena, 2010). One definition of behavior is any action that an individual carries out in response to a stimulus or its environment, especially an action that can be observed and described. However, insects also behave spontaneously, in the absence of any obvious stimulus. Thus, behavior includes studies to understand how an insect takes in information from its environment, processes that information, and acts. Processing information in the central nervous system may involve integrating information over time, including stimuli such as hormones coming from within the insect. Thus, the connection between stimulus and response can be delayed and indirect. The genetic analysis of behavior rightfully has been perceived to be more complex than analysis of morphological or anatomical traits (Vanin et al., 2012). One complication in genetic analyses of behavior is the difficulty in defining the behavior in a clear manner. Often “a behavior” may consist of multiple components, which can lead to confusion regarding the number of genes involved. Distinguishing between behavior and physiology can be particularly difficult. The same behavior can be examined from at least four different viewpoints: (1) the immediate cause (or control); (2) its development during the individual’s lifespan; (3) the function of the behavior; and (4) how the behavior evolved (Wyatt, 1997). Behavior genetics began to develop as a field of study in the 1960s, but was limited to demonstrating that a behavioral trait was heritable, determining whether its mode of inheritance was dominant or recessive, sex-linked or autosomal, and resolving whether the variation was due to single or multiple genes. Genetic analyses of insect behavior require careful control of environmental conditions, because even subtle differences in test conditions can influence results of assays (Vanin et al., 2012). Objective measures of insect behavior are difficult, and considerable efforts have been devoted to devising specific and appropriate assays. The possible influence of learning always must be considered and, to complicate matters further, learning rates vary among populations of the same species and among individuals so both heredity and environment must be considered. Furthermore, recent studies indicate individuals have “personalities”; for example, some may be more adventurous than others. Genetic analyses of insect behavior involve, in many cases, analyses of the physiological or morphological changes associated with the change in behavior. Sometimes, however, behavior is changed in an insect because a morphological trait has been altered through mutation. The genetic basis of insect behavior initially was analyzed most extensively using Drosophila melanogaster and honey bees, grasshoppers, Nasonia parasitoids, and crickets. Now, molecular genetic techniques provide powerful methods to analyze olfaction, learning, circadian rhythms, and mating behavior in many species. Having the complete genomes insects simplifies the isolation of specific genes involved in behavior. P-element-mediated transformation makes it possible to insert genes from one species of Drosophila into the genome of another to determine their effect(s). Molecular genetic analyses of learning and memory in Drosophila provided a means to study one of the most challenging frontiers in neurobiology (Waddell and Quinn, 2001). Molecular genetics may allow us to localize and identify some of the individual genes among the “many” involved in interesting and complex behaviors exhibited by insects (Doerge, 2002). Perhaps the most significant advance in the study of behavior has been the sequencing of genomes of insects other than Drosophila. This has allowed novel and detailed studies in a variety of insects and promises to provide exceptional new insights. Analyses of insect behavior employ techniques from several disciplines including anatomy, biochemistry, ecology, ethology (study of animal behavior in the natural environment), genetics, psychology, physiology, and statistics (Matthews and Matthews, 1978; Hay, 1985; Bell, 1990; Via, 1990; Barton Browne, 1993; Heisenberg, 1997; Doerge, 2002). These disciplines are required because an insect perceives the environment through its sensory systems. The external sensory stimuli are transduced into electrical information, which is then processed and decoded, leading to a behavioral response. Behavior can be divided into several sequential steps: stimulus recognition, signal transduction, integration, and response or motor output. Fundamental Principles Food Processing and Storage Landscapes To understand stored-product insect behavior, we need to consider that insects perceive and interact with the environment around them differently than humans would perceive the same landscape. Most landscapes created or modified by humans tend to be highly fragmented mosaics of resource patches (Wiens, 1976). A patch is defined as any area of relatively similar resource that is spatially separated from other resources of the same type. In fragmented landscapes, these patches are separated from each other, with less-favorable habitat in between. For example, all the flour in a mill is not in one big pile but is divided up among different pieces of equipment, cracks and crevices, floors, packages, etc. Each location with flour, even very small amounts of flour in very small locations, can be a potential resource patch for a stored-product pest. The quality and persistence of each of these resource patches can vary considerably over time. This dividing up of resources into patches of varying quality and persistence has important implications for the biology of stored-product insects. Insect population dynamics, persistence, and spatial distribution are all influenced by the structure and dynamics of the landscape within which the population occurs (Turner, 1989; Wiens et al, 1993; Wiens, 1997). This influence is mediated by the behavioral interactions between the insects and the landscape structure. Most stored-product pest species are well adapted to exploiting these fragmented landscapes; this is what makes them so effective at finding and infesting food and so difficult to control. >From a pestmanagement perspective, we want to manipulate the landscape so that pests are less able to establish and persist. For example, we can decrease the number of food patches (e.g., with sanitation or structural modification to eliminate accumulation of spillage), decrease the quality of a patch (e.g., with crack and crevice pesticide applications or frequent cleaning), and inhibit movement among patches (e.g., by exclusion, structural modification, or surface pesticide treatments). Any resource important for stored-product insects, such as food, mates, oviposition sites, or refugia (i.e., harborages) may be patchy and may directly, or in combination with other factors, influence insect distribution and population trends. These resources can also be patchy at a range of spatial scales: e.g., individual pieces of food, packages of food material surrounded by packaging barriers, packages arranged on pallets, or a processing plant in a landscape that includes other food-storage and -processing facilities. The landscape structure at all of these spatial scales probably influences stored-product insect populations, although our understanding of these processes is still very limited. Movement All organisms are where they are because they have moved there—either actively or by some external factor acting on them (e.g., egg laying, human activity). A central component of any organism’s biology is its ability to avoid unfavorable habitats or to find more favorable ones. This can be accomplished by moving through space to leave unfavorable patches and/or seek out more favorable patches, or it can be accomplished by waiting for conditions to improve in the current location. - Behavioral responses of Callosobruchus maculatus to volatile organic compounds found in the headspace of dried green pea seeds <https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-015-0652-4> 2016, Journal of Pest Science - Influence of environmental and physical factors on capture of Tribolium castaneum (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) in a flour mill <https://doi.org/10.1603/EC11322> 2012, Journal of Economic Entomology - Genetic structure of Tribolium castaneum (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) populations in mills <https://doi.org/10.1603/EN11207> 2012, Environmental Entomology - Long-term monitoring of tribolium castaneum populations in two flour mills: Rebound after fumigation <https://doi.org/10.1603/EC09348> 2010, Journal of Economic Entomology There are so many research papers K R IRS 2825 ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: R V Rao <[email protected]> Date: Sat, 2 Aug 2025 at 07:18 Subject: [society4servingseniors] I never knew - interesting facts! To: societyforservingseniors <[email protected]> *What an Amazing Discovery*! Scientists have discovered that Ants, after collecting grains and seeds which they need to store for the winter, actually break them into halves before storing in their nests. This is because by breaking the seeds into half, it stops them from germinating despite the most perfect conditions. But Scientists were stunned when they discovered that Coriander seeds stored in the Ant nest were always broken down into 4 pieces instead of 2 pieces. After some lab research, Scientists discovered that a Coriander Seed is the only seed that can germinate even after being divided into two, but can not germinate after it’s divided into four parts. So how do these tiny tiny creatures knew all this? And we Humans thought we are the ONLY intelligent creations of God. Truth is We know very little & there's a lot to learn from every creature even if it’s so tiny. *God is just Great & Impartial* -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "societyforservingseniors" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/society4servingseniors/CAPVuisWQYsO6CL-z%3D%2BsmxRk-NdHEAGq0%2BemZaGbCROYnpW9QuA%40mail.gmail.com <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/society4servingseniors/CAPVuisWQYsO6CL-z%3D%2BsmxRk-NdHEAGq0%2BemZaGbCROYnpW9QuA%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> . -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CAL5XZooQ6441mdy1mrDwV8Ha1YVWeXwce%3DUZQKjj3bCNMs23Tg%40mail.gmail.com.
