Abstract
Gains in our knowledge of dispersal and migration in insects have been largely limited to either wing-dimorphic species or current genetic model systems. Species belonging to these categories, however, represent only a tiny fraction of insect biodiversity, potentially making generalization problematic. In this perspective, I present three topics in which current and future research may lead to greater knowledge of these processes in wing-monomorphic insects with limited existing molecular tools. First, threshold genetic models are reviewed as testable hypotheses for the heritability of migratory traits, using the sweet potato whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) as a case study of a behaviorally-polymorphic migratory species lacking morphological or physiological differentiation. In addition, both adaptive and non-adaptive explanations for the empirically variable relationship between egg production and flight in wing-monomorphic insects are discussed. Finally, with respect to the largest order of insects (Hymenoptera), the role of sex determination mechanisms for haplodiploidy as a driver for natal dispersal (for inbreeding avoidance) versus philopatry (such as in local mate competition) is discussed.
Highlights
Gains in our knowledge of dispersal and migration in insects have been largely limited to either wing-dimorphic species or current genetic model systems
I will discuss three topics that may yield more general insights into dispersal and migration across the understudied multitude of flying insects: (1) migratory behavior as a threshold genetic trait; (2) the relationship between egg production and female dispersal; and (3) in the order Hymenoptera, the role sex determination mechanisms play in natal dispersal strategies
Threshold Genetic Models: Back to the Future In Drosophila melanogaster, larval foraging behavior can be tied to a Mendelian polymorphism in the foraging gene: dominant “rovers” traverse a larger search area than recessive “sitters”
Summary
“Despite these findings, much remains to be determined about dispersal by flight and its relationship to reproductive timing in parasitoid wasps.”. Detailed studies of the proximate mechanisms behind movement by flight are found in relatively few such species, including monarch butterflies (a continental-scale, transgenerational migrant [15,16]), Drosophila melanogaster (a genetic model system [17]), and a handful of serious pests with regard to agriculture or human health (e.g., cotton bollworm and yellow fever mosquito [18,19]) In this perspective, I will discuss three topics that may yield more general insights into dispersal and migration across the understudied multitude of flying insects: (1) migratory behavior as a threshold genetic trait; (2) the relationship between egg production and female dispersal; and (3) in the order Hymenoptera, the role sex determination mechanisms play in natal dispersal strategies. The behavioral perspective of Asplen [2] is adopted here: (1) dispersal refers to behaviors that displace insects from their natal habitat or move them between breeding habitats; while (2) migration involves persistent and straightened-out movement in which the insect both ignores typical foraging cues and abandons its home range (after [21])
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