Target-invariant aggressive display in a tephritid fly

Aguilar-Arguello, Samuel; Dı́az-Fleischer, Francisco; Rao, Dingqi

doi:10.1016/j.beproc.2015.10.006

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 13 publications

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“…For example, male-derived chemosensory cues may induce a covert “tendency”, or increased probability to perform a behavior (Heiligenberg, 1974; Hinde, 1955), that is triggered, or “released” by visual motion (Fig. 7D, blue, green; Aguilar-Argüello et al, 2015; Tinbergen, 1954).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Brain Module for Scalable Control of Complex, Multi-motor Threat Displays

Duistermars

Pfeiffer

Hoopfer

et al. 2018

Neuron

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Summary Threat displays are a universal feature of agonistic interactions. Whether threats are part of a continuum of aggressive behaviors, or separately controlled, remains unclear. We analyze threats in Drosophila and show they are triggered by male cues and visual motion, and comprised of multiple motor elements that can be flexibly combined. We isolate a cluster of ~3 neurons whose activity is necessary for threat displays but not for other aggressive behaviors, and whose artificial activation suffices to evoke naturalistic threats in solitary flies, suggesting that the neural control of threats is modular with respect to other aggressive behaviors. Artificially evoked threats suffice to repel opponents from a resource, in the absence of contact aggression. Depending on its level of artificial activation, this neural threat module can evoke different motor elements in a threshold-dependent manner. Such scalable modules may represent fundamental “building blocks” of neural circuits that mediate complex multi-motor behaviors.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Brain Module for Scalable Control of Complex, Multi-motor Threat Displays

Duistermars

Pfeiffer

Hoopfer

et al. 2018

Neuron

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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Aggressive Behavior in Olive Fruit Fly Females: Oviposition Site Guarding against Parasitic Wasps

Benelli

Canale

2016

J Insect Behav

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Among Tephritidae flies, the females display agonistic behavior to maintain single oviposition sites and reduce larval competition for food. In the olive fruit fly, Bactrocera oleae, female-female aggressive interactions are characterized by reciprocal wing waving, chasing, head butting and boxing with forelegs. Little is known on tephritid aggressive behaviors directed towards natural enemies, with special reference to parasitoids attacking their young instars. In this study, we quantified the aggressive behavior of B. oleae females guarding their oviposition site against the braconid parasitoid Psyttalia concolor. The fly aggressive behavior displayed against the parasitoids was compared that directed towards paper dummies mimicking P. concolor adults. When a P. concolor female came close (<20 mm) to a B. oleae female guarding the oviposition site, the 91.67% of the flies displayed wing-waving, the 63.34% chased the parasitoid, the 45% showed head-butting, while boxing was observed only in the 26.67% of the aggressions. When paper dummies were tested, only the 66.67% of the flies displayed wing-waving, the 8.33% performed chasing, followed by head butting (5.00%) and boxing (3.33%). B. oleae displayed longer aggression bouts towards live wasps over dummies. Overall, this is the first evidence pointing out that tephritid aggressive acts, besides their role in intraspecific interactions, were also highly effective to displace parasitic wasps from the fly oviposition site. Further research on potential consequences on fitness traits arising from the above-discussed behaviors, as well as on parasitoid learning-mediated responses to tephritid aggressions, is urgently required

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