Recognition and Family Life: Recognition Mechanisms in the Biparental Burying Beetle

Abstract

Burying beetles (genus Nicrophorus) are one of the few insect taxa that provide elaborate prehatching and posthatching biparental care. They reproduce on dead vertebrates and both parents are known to feed and defend their young. In this chapter, I will show that both of their key characteristics, their extended biparental care as well as their reproduction on a valuable and sought-after resource gave rise to the evolution of sophisticated recognition mechanisms. They are able to recognize the sex of a conspecific, their previous mating partner, their breeding partner including its reproductive sate and-using temporal cues-their offspring. I will provide an overview of the recent advances in elucidating the recognition processes of burying beetles and will demonstrate that most of the recognition mechanisms are mediated by chemical cues and signals.

A hormone-related female anti-aphrodisiac signals temporary infertility and causes sexual abstinence to synchronize parental care

“…Methyl geranate is one chemical component of the odour bouquet males use for partner recognition 23 . However, Steiger 17 already hypothesized that it is unlikely that this is the main function of methyl geranate, as it is only emitted by females, while the partner recognition mechanisms work reciprocally for both sexes. On the basis of the results of the present study, we conclude that the signal evolved as an anti-aphrodisiac.…”

“…To shed light on the physiological basis of parental investment strategies as well as on how sexual activity and parental care is coordinated between breeding partners, we studied burying beetles. These beetles are a prime example of insects performing elaborate biparental care 13 14 15 16 and are known for their complex recognition and communication systems 17 . Burying beetles reproduce on small dead vertebrates and feed their developing young with pre-digested carrion food.…”

Ecology and Evolution of Communication in Social Insects

“…Instead, most species seem to employ rules of thumb whenever simpler cues suffice. Illustrating this point, parents of the subsocial burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides (Figure 4A) cannot discriminate between their own and artificially introduced larvae but accept all brood that is of the right age (calculated from time of egg laying) (Steiger, 2015).…”

The impact of acoustic signalling on offspring performance varies between three biparentally caring species

“…Burying beetles (genus Nicrophorus) bury small vertebrates as food source for their larvae and then exhibit elaborate biparental care in the rearing of these larvae, which is rare among insects. Consequently burying beetles have emerged as model organisms in evolutionary and behavioural ecology (Creighton, Smith, Komendat, & Belk, 2015;Engel et al, 2016;Head, Hinde, Moore, & Royle, 2014;Jarrett, Schrader, Rebar, Houslay, & Kilner, 2017;Paquet & Smiseth, 2017;Parker et al, 2015;Rozen, Engelmoer, & Smiseth, 2008;Steiger, 2015;Trumbo, 2017;Vogel et al, 2017). Given their rather complex family life -which includes, among other behaviours, feeding of their young, defending the carcass and carcass manipulation -and the interactions between partners as well as their offspring, it is not surprising that sophisticated recognition and communication processes have evolved using chemical as well as acoustic signals (Steiger, 2015) with the former already having been intensively studied.…”