Insects
An insect's sense of smell enables it to find mates, locate food, avoid predators, and even gather in groups.
Some insects form a nest, or space themselves appropriately in a habitat with limited resources.
Insects use pheromone or odor signals to interact with one another.
Types of pheromones and their functions
Insects like ants and termites leave chemical trails to guide others to food or back to the nest.
Used to attract mates, sometimes over very long distances.
Released to signal danger, prompting other insects to flee or become aggressive. The alarm pheromone of a bee, for example, can cause other bees to sting en masse.
Used to attract individuals to a specific location, which can be useful for mating or finding resources.
Can also be 3-dimensional, providing information on the location of resources, as seen in some stingless bees.
Green Nymph Stick Insect
giant wētā
RHINOCEROS BEETLE
Grasshopper
Most hearing insects have a pair of tympanal organs. Think of a tympani, the large drum used in the percussion section of an orchestra. Like the tympani, the tympanal organ consists of a membrane stretched on a frame, over an air-filled cavity. When the percussionist hammers on the membrane of the tympani, it vibrates and produces a sound. The insect's tympanal organ vibrates as it catches sound waves in the air. The insect also has a special receptor called the chordotonal organ, which senses this vibration of the tympanal organ, and translates the sound into a nerve impulse. Insects that use tympanal organs to hear include
Insects that use tympanal organs to hear include grasshoppers, crickets, cicadas, and some butterflies and moths.
In Ancient Greece, a slave named Aesop(620–560 BC), who became famous for his storytelling, told a tale called The Ant and the Grasshopper. The ant worked hard preparing for his shelter and stored food all summer in preparation for the winter, while the grasshopper played. When winter came, the ant was prepared, but the grasshopper had neither shelter nor food. He went to the ant's home begging, but the ant refused, and the grasshopper starved.
Stink Bug
In some species, male ants (known as drones) often have only one role—mating with the queen. They usually die shortly after.
Rhinoceros beetle fighting in Chiang Mai, Thailand, is a sport!