Neuroendocrine control of insect aggression: do environmental stressors modulate aggressive behavior?

Aggressive behavior is crucial for survival and reproductive success across the animal kingdom, enabling individuals to secure resources and protect against natural enemies. Aggressive behavior is also highly plastic, with animals quickly adjusting their aggression level in response to environmental and social context. Neuroendocrine systems govern this regulation. While the neuroendocrine mechanisms of aggression have been extensively studied in vertebrates, they remain underexplored in insects. Recent advances in analytical techniques have provided new opportunities to investigate these mechanisms with greater precision. This research is particularly timely as insects face an increasing number of environmental stressors, including anthropogenic factors, which disrupt their neuroendocrine systems. This review aims to highlight the roles of hormones (juvenile hormone, ecdysteroids) and biogenic amines (dopamine, tyramine, octopamine, serotonin) in regulating insect aggression, emphasizing recent advances. We further discuss how environmental stressors impact neuroendocrine pathways and the resulting implications for aggression, population stability, and ecosystem services.