Skip Navigation

American Zoologist 2001 41(5):1215-1221; doi:10.1093/icb/41.5.1215
© 2001 by The Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Request Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Cocroft, R. B.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Vibrational Communication and the Ecology of Group-Living, Herbivorous Insects1

Reginald B. Cocroft2,1
1 Division of Biological Sciences, 105 Tucker Hall, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211

Communication among members of a colony is a key feature of the success of eusocial insects. The same may be true in other forms of insect sociality. I suggest that substrate-borne vibrational communication is important in the success of group-living, herbivorous insects. I examine three challenges encountered by herbivorous insects: locating and remaining in a group of conspecifics; locating food resources; and avoiding predation. Studies of groups of immature treehoppers, sawflies and butterflies suggest that vibrational communication can be important in each of these contexts, enhancing the ability of these group-living herbivores to exploit the resources of their host plants.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.