An insect that cooperates like bacteria.
Saved in:
| Title: | An insect that cooperates like bacteria. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | West, Stuart A.1 stuart.west@biology.ox.ac.uk, Griffin, Ashleigh S.1 |
| Source: | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 4/14/2026, Vol. 123 Issue 15, p1-3. 3p. |
| Subjects: | Cooperation, Kin selection (Evolution), Common good, Social evolution, Insects, Repellents, Altruism |
| Abstract: | The article focuses on cooperative behavior in the pine sawfly Neodiprion sertifer larvae, which produce a defensive secretion functioning as a public good to deter predators. Researchers experimentally created "cheats" by manually depleting larvae of their defensive fluid and found that cheats benefit by avoiding secretion costs but suffer higher predation risk, especially when common in groups. Cooperation persists primarily because larvae forage in groups of relatives, allowing kin selection to favor altruistic secretion despite the presence of cheats. The study highlights complexities such as sex differences and group composition affecting cooperation and notes that, unlike microorganisms, these insects can be observed and manipulated in natural settings to study social evolution. [Extracted from the article] |
| Copyright of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America is the property of National Academy of Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Engineering Source |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 |
|---|---|
| Header | DbId: egs DbLabel: Engineering Source An: 193036290 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
| IllustrationInfo | |
| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: An insect that cooperates like bacteria. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22West%2C+Stuart+A%2E%22">West, Stuart A.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> stuart.west@biology.ox.ac.uk</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Griffin%2C+Ashleigh+S%2E%22">Griffin, Ashleigh S.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Proceedings+of+the+National+Academy+of+Sciences+of+the+United+States+of+America%22">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America</searchLink>. 4/14/2026, Vol. 123 Issue 15, p1-3. 3p. – Name: Subject Label: Subjects Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cooperation%22">Cooperation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Kin+selection+%28Evolution%29%22">Kin selection (Evolution)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Common+good%22">Common good</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+evolution%22">Social evolution</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Insects%22">Insects</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Repellents%22">Repellents</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Altruism%22">Altruism</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: The article focuses on cooperative behavior in the pine sawfly Neodiprion sertifer larvae, which produce a defensive secretion functioning as a public good to deter predators. Researchers experimentally created "cheats" by manually depleting larvae of their defensive fluid and found that cheats benefit by avoiding secretion costs but suffer higher predation risk, especially when common in groups. Cooperation persists primarily because larvae forage in groups of relatives, allowing kin selection to favor altruistic secretion despite the presence of cheats. The study highlights complexities such as sex differences and group composition affecting cooperation and notes that, unlike microorganisms, these insects can be observed and manipulated in natural settings to study social evolution. [Extracted from the article] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America is the property of National Academy of Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=egs&AN=193036290 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1073/pnas.2605413123 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 3 StartPage: 1 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Cooperation Type: general – SubjectFull: Kin selection (Evolution) Type: general – SubjectFull: Common good Type: general – SubjectFull: Social evolution Type: general – SubjectFull: Insects Type: general – SubjectFull: Repellents Type: general – SubjectFull: Altruism Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: An insect that cooperates like bacteria. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: West, Stuart A. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Griffin, Ashleigh S. IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 14 M: 04 Text: 4/14/2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 00278424 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 123 – Type: issue Value: 15 Titles: – TitleFull: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
