Mysterious flag-waving conduct in a tropical bug is an anti-predator technique

If you occur to be strolling within the forests of Panama, you would possibly simply come throughout a bug that may wave at you, which scientists on the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) have been finding out for some time. The matador bug (Bitta alipes) carries putting, reddish “flags” on its hind legs and performs an intricate leg-waving show. But the explanation these bugs carry out this conduct has remained a thriller—till now.

Sexual choice appeared a possible rationalization. Males would wave their flags to draw females. Yet when scientists examined the concept, they discovered no proof: each women and men waved their legs, and waving was unrelated to courtship or competitors. That deepened the puzzle: if not for intercourse, why evolve such a conspicuous and seemingly expensive conduct?

A research published in Current Zoology by STRI researchers Connor Evans-Blake, Juliette Rubin and Ummat Somjee provides a solution. These colourful “flags” seem to not appeal to mates, however to discourage predators.

The workforce uncovered matador bugs to 2 totally different arthropods: predatory praying mantids and innocent katydids. They recorded almost 3,000 leg waves. The outcomes have been putting: On common, bugs elevated their waving conduct seven-fold within the presence of mantids, however barely responded to katydids. Even extra telling, mantids by no means attacked bugs that have been actively waving.

The findings present that waving is an anti-predator conduct, deployed particularly when hazard looms. To doc whether or not comparable flag-waving conduct happens in different species throughout the household, researchers used direct observations in Panama and looked for movies on-line. They discovered that at the least 5 associated flag-legged species show comparable waving behaviors, hinting at a broader evolutionary technique amongst these plant-feeding bugs.

All these flag-waving bugs feed on passionflower vines, identified to hold toxins, and will thus be promoting their very own chemical defenses with these daring actions. But how does waving cut back predatory assaults? The exact mechanism stays a thriller. Is the waving speaking the bugs’ doubtless toxicity, complicated predators’ imaginative and prescient, or intimidating attackers with exaggerated movement?

“We’re left with more questions than answers,” stated senior writer Ummat Somjee. “But that’s the beauty of studying insects—there are hundreds of thousands of species, most of them completely unstudied, and every time we look closely we uncover behaviors that change the way we think about evolution.”

Research like this goes past fixing quirky puzzles. Insects make up nearly all of Earth’s biodiversity and are foundational to terrestrial ecosystems worldwide, but most of their behaviors stay undocumented. Understanding how prey defend themselves gives perception into how animals evolve and diversify into the numerous varieties, generally weird, that make up advanced ecosystems.