Mechanisms of Nutritional Resource Exploitation by Insects

Sara Leonhardt , Mathieu Lihoreau (1) , Johannes Spaethe

1 CRCA - Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale - UMR5169

Insects have evolved an extraordinary range of nutritional adaptations to exploit other animals, plants, bacteria, fungi and soils as resources in terrestrial and aquatic environments. This special issue provides some new insights into the mechanisms underlying these adaptations. Contributions comprise lab and field studies investigating the chemical, physiological, cognitive and behavioral mechanisms that enable resource exploitation and nutrient intake regulation in insects. The collection of papers highlights the need for more studies on the comparative sensory ecology, underlying nutritional quality assessment, cue perception and decision making to fully understand how insects adjust resource selection and exploitation in response to environmental heterogeneity and variability.

Domaines: Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]

Sara Leonhardt, Mathieu Lihoreau, Johannes Spaethe. Mechanisms of Nutritional Resource Exploitation by Insects. Insects, 2020, 11 (9), pp.570. ⟨10.3390/insects11090570⟩. ⟨hal-03082162⟩