Sociality and communicative complexity: insights from the other insect societies

Area of Science:

• Animal Behavior
• Evolutionary Biology
• Insect Communication

Background:

• Organismal interaction with the biotic environment relies on recognition and communication.
• Social interactions are coordinated by communication, leading to the hypothesis that social evolution drives communicative complexity.
• Existing studies on olfactory signals and receptor repertoires in solitary versus eusocial insects show mixed support for this hypothesis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore explanations for the mixed evidence regarding the social complexity hypothesis.
• To highlight the need for a more balanced comparative dataset, particularly concerning intermediate levels of sociality.
• To illustrate the complexity of communication in various insect societies beyond eusociality.

Main Methods:

• Comparative analysis of existing studies on insect communication and sociality.
• Literature review focusing on olfactory signals and receptor repertoires.
• Illustrative examples of complex communication in diverse insect societies.

Main Results:

• Current data is insufficient to fully test the social complexity hypothesis due to a lack of studies on intermediate sociality.
• Complex communication is not exclusive to eusocial insects; many messages are found in other social structures.
• Investigating a broader range of insect societies can provide a more nuanced understanding of the social-communicative complexity link.

Conclusions:

• A comprehensive understanding of the relationship between social and communicative complexity requires broader research across different levels of insect sociality.
• Studying insect societies beyond the eusocial spectrum is crucial for a balanced perspective.
• Further research should focus on gathering data from insect groups with intermediate social structures to adequately test evolutionary hypotheses.