Social nutrition: an emerging field in insect science

Abstract

Nutrition is thought to be a major driver of social evolution, yet empirical support for this hypothesis is scarce. Here we illustrate how conceptual advances in nutritional ecology illuminate some of the mechanisms by which nutrition mediates social interactions in insects and some other arthropods. We focus on experiments and models of nutritional geometry and argue that they provide a powerful means for comparing nutritional phenomena across species exhibiting various social ecologies. This approach, initially developed to study the nutritional behaviour of individual insects, has been increasingly applied to study insect groups and societies, leading to the emerging field of social nutrition. We discuss future directions for exploring how these nutritional mechanisms may influence major social transitions in insects and other animals.

Bumblebees adjust protein and lipid collection rules to the presence of brood

“…2014, 2015). The challenge of group nutrition is exemplified in social insects, where foragers must balance their collection of foods to reach a colony level intake target that addresses the divergent needs of all colony members, including the non-foraging workers, the brood (larvae), and the reproductive males and females (Lihoreau et al. 2018).…”

Dual‐fluorescence imaging and automated trophallaxis detection for studying multi‐nutrient regulation in superorganisms

“…The two advances we presented here, namely the two‐colour imaging and the automatic trophallaxis detection, allow to complement existing knowledge on colony nutrition with dynamic individual‐level data that can provide mechanistic insights (Csata & Dussutour, 2019; Lihoreau et al., 2018). For example, a regulated intake‐target of proteins and carbohydrates has been reported in ant colonies more than a decade ago (Dussutour & Simpson, 2009), but the path to this target has yet to be observed.…”

“…can provide mechanistic insights (Lihoreau, Gómez-Moracho, et al, 2018;Csata and Dussutour, 2019). For example, a regulated intake target of protein and carbohydrates has been reported in ant colonies more than a decade ago (Dussutour and Simpson, 2009), but the path to this target has yet to be observed.…”

Regulation of macronutrient intake in termites: A dietary self-selection experiment

“…In ants, foragers increase protein collection and regulate nutritional intake better in presence of larvae Simpson, 2009, 2008), suggesting that larvae provide strong feedbacks to workers regarding the nutritional status of the colony. Studies on ant and bee nutrition are now building up and the regulatory strategies employed to meet the IT at the colony level are better understood (review in Lihoreau et al, 2018). In higher termite species (the most phylogenetically derived species), collective nutrition is a complex process, as several interdependent castes co-exist in a same mound.…”