DEFECATION BEHAVIOR AND ECOLOGY OF INSECTS
- 1 January 2006
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Annual Reviews in Annual Review of Entomology
- Vol. 51 (1), 635-661
- https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ento.49.061802.123212
Abstract
▪ Abstract Whereas foraging has been a major focus of ecological and entomological research, its obligate partner, defecation, has been comparatively neglected. Insects exhibit a range of intriguing behavioral and morphological adaptations related to waste disposal in a range of contexts, including predator-prey interactions, hygiene, habitat location, reproduction, feeding, and shelter construction. Some insects, for example, make use of their own excrement as a physical or chemical defense against natural enemies, while others actively distance themselves from their waste material. Internally feeding insects, fluid-feeders, and social insects face particular challenges because their feeding behavior and/or site fidelity makes them especially vulnerable to problems associated with waste accumulation. As is true for foraging, ecological interactions involving defecation may have far-reaching evolutionary consequences and merit further study.Keywords
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