The best bug fathers might very well be burying beetles, Mas suggests, since this species feeds on corpses, and the father must sit and guard the dead corpse "home" to ensure relative freshness for his family. Begging can be dishonest, however, arising from competition between siblings and also between the parent and its offspring. The researchers found that bullies exist in the bug world too. "It is possible, and often observed, that actually it is the strongest or the oldest that get the best spot in the nest where parents are feeding, and thus those behaviors positively correlate with competitive ability but not necessarily with true need for food," she explained. It may even be in the best interest of larvae to hoard food and parental attention, since "the addition of more brothers and sisters does not contribute to its own survival." "Thus, we expect in offspring selection for traits that will enhance their own chance of surviving, such as begging behaviors that influence the amount of parental care provided by parents," she added. In another study on baby bug behavior, Bruno Gobin of the Catholic University of Leuven and his colleagues discovered that although ant larvae are legless, they've devised a clever technique for gaining the attention of their caretakers: They sway. "In this swaying behavior, larvae raised their head and neck, and gently reached and waved towards workers or food items," Gobin and his team determined. Mas hopes additional studies on insects may reveal more about the evolution of begging, which she believes could complement "current research on parent-offspring conflict." Related Links: |
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