A research team from the School of Grassland Science recently published a paper entitled "Object Use in Insects" in the top-tier journal Insect Science. The article, which was featured on the cover, provides a comprehensive overview of the latest research developments in insect object-use behavior.

Insects are the most diverse group of organisms in the animal kingdom, and some species exhibit complex social behaviors. Although research on insect object use is still in its early stages, insects have already been shown to display rich object-use behaviors. This review focuses on patterns and behavioral flexibility in insect object-use behavior, and the role of cultural evolution in the development of object-use behaviors. Object use in insects is not widespread but has been documented in a diverse set of taxa. Some insects can use objects flexibly and display various object-use patterns. Like mammals and birds, insects use objects in diverse activities, including foraging, predator defense, courtship, and play. Intelligence, pre-existing manipulative behaviors, and anatomical structure affect innovations in object use. In addition, learning and imitation are the main mechanisms underlying the spread of object-use behaviors within populations. Given that insects are one of the major animal groups engaging in object use, studies of insect object use could provide general insights into object use in the animal kingdom.

Ph.D Wen Chao, a youth teacher from the School of Grassland Science, served as the paper's first author, with Professor Dong Shikui as the corresponding author.

This study was funded by the National Key R&D Program of China (No. 2021YFD1000500, 2022YFD1400600, and 2021YFE0112400), National Natural Science Foundation of China (32072488), and Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research Program (2019QZKK0307).

Paper link: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1744-7917.13275

Written by Wen Chao
Translated and edited by Song He
Reviewed by Yu Yangyang