Insect Ecology @ Au Sable - spring 2024

By Geof Gaiser Freeze avoidance is clearly the basal characteristic of insects, in contrast to freeze tolerance, an evolved set of traits.  Avoidance is characteristic of cold continental habitats of the Northern Hemisphere, allowing insects to survive very low temperatures for long periods of time, and also to avoid desiccation.  These responses tend to be strongly seasonal, and insects in these habitats are only capable of maintaining their avoidance strategies for the overwintering period in their microenvironment. Strategies of freeze avoidance are seen in the larvae of the goldenrod gall moth, Epiblema scudderiana ,eggs of the Autumnal moth, Epirrita autumna ,  many other insects, and the arachnids – spiders, mites and ticks. Some super cooling points can be as low as -35 to -40ᵒC.  Ref.   B.J.Sinclair et al “Climatic variability and the evolution of insect freeze tolerance”, Biological Reviews, 78:181-195 (2003) The larvae of the goldenro...

Insect Wings                 Insects are some of the most diverse and successful organisms on the planet. Scientists attribute this astounding success to many different factors, but the most widely acknowledged key to their success is probably their wings. Insects feature many different kinds of wings, and use them in a wide range of ways. After a brief introduction to the basic mechanics of insect flight, we will explore some of the most extreme insect wings. Scientists have devised several evolutionary models to attempt to explain the origin of the insect wing. Several preadaptations for flight would have included several factors. First, resistance to desiccation would be vital to the survival of the insect away from sufficient moisture. The metabolic demands of wing tissues also require an already functioning tracheal respiratory system as well. Finally, it is evident that the muscles attaching the wings ...

            Cooperative social behavior, or eusociality, is a term marked for organisms that work together in a hives, colonies, or other groups that divide labor and resources for the good of the whole and is the highest level in animal social organization. The precise characteristic of eusociality is the existence of castes in a population of organisms. Castes determine a specific role for an individual that is set for its entire mature life (Crespi and Yanega 1995). In a eusociety, two functions are essential: an infertile group aiding the other insects that are reproducing, as well as totipotency in either the reproductive group (called facultative eusociality) or neither group (called obligate eusociality) (Crespi and Yanega 1995). Of the insects, termites and various species within the Order Hymenoptera, such as bees, wasps or ants, are known for their eusocial societies.             There are...

Trail of Ants Chemical signaling is common amongst a wide variety of species, whether it is designed as defense, attracting a mate, or communicating. Insects use different chemicals such as pheromones, allomones, kairomones, attractants and repellents to their advantage of signaling. Chemical signaling is also common in plant insect interactions, which will be discussed in this post. Alongside of that, a narrower topic of the reduviid Apiomerus pilipes , who preys on meliponine bees causing them to have to use their chemical signaling attributes. In the long run, this can be detrimental to their safety. Chemical signaling works in various ways with species “interactions, mutualism and parasitism, predator-prey cycles, and community assembly” (Raguso et.al, 2015) Chemical ecology is composed of organic compounds that allow species to do various things. In defense, insects, plants, and other species put out protections, such as toxins, anti-nutritives, resin, inks and latex....

Kingdom: Animalia Phylum : Arthropoda Subphylum: Hexapoda Class: Insecta Order: Diptera Infra-order: Culcimorpha Family: Chironomeidae “Midge” from Old English “mycg” meaning “small fly”                                     Ref. Wikipedia In Family Diptera, identification can often only be by terrestrial adult, and not possible to identify as aquatic larvae. Chironomidae are by far the largest family of aquatic insects. The larvae are recognizable because they have anterior and posterior pairs of prologs.  They inhabit all types of permanent and temporary aquatic habitats. The short lived adults cause human allergies. Feeding habits of different species of midges vary widely, herbivore-detritovore as well as carnivores.  Many larvae are free living, but most species construct loose ...

Order Trichoptera “Hairy wings”                 Trichopterans, known colloquially as caddisflies, are natural engineers. Though the adult form achieves little other than mating and congregating mindlessly around incandescent light bulb, the Trichoptera larvae actively compete with other inhabitants of their freshwater habitats.  Some are simply vicious predators. But the vast rely on self-made “cases” to give them a competitive advantage against their neighbors. Their designs vary from species-to-species, ultimately displaying a range of creative instinct. Of the known 7,000 species of caddisflies worldwide, over 1,200 inhabit North America. As earlier stated, the adult forms are common frequenters of accessible light sources. The caddisfly’s adult life is very short-lived and many may not even eat. As larvae, however, they have enormous impacts on their environment. Caddisflies are the third largest ...

          The experience that has been on the top of my bucket list since I can remember was watching the fireflies lighting up during a Midwestern summer. The “lightning bug” or the “firefly” is in the family Lampyridae , order Coleoptera, Suborder Polyphaga, Infraorder Elateriformia, and superfamily Elateroidea. Lampyridae are medium-sized brown or black beetles, often with red and yellow coloration. A distinguishable characteristic is their ability to emit light during the mating season, which attracts the opposite sex during the evening after dusk (Hess 39). Most of the species of fireflies are bioluminescent during the larval and adult stages, except one species ( Pyropyga fenestralis ), which only emits lights during the larval stage (Hess 39). They are often nocturnal, but can be diurnal . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefly#/media/File:Photuris_lucicrescens.jpg             Fireflies are...