Behavior

Normally, the behavior of insects is of instinctive character: the reaction comes as a response to a signal perceived by certain organ of sense.

For example, if larvae living in the ground are brought to the surface, they try to crawl into the ground again; insects active in the daytime placed in a dark room move to the window, to the light; on the contrary, many insects living in darkness, silverfish for example, move away from light.
Quite often a particular excitator becomes a signal for certain activity of insects. For instance, decrease of the illumination to a certain level before sunset represents a signal which starts flight of many chafers.

The behavior is defined not just by outer causes, but also by the inner ones. For example, a female beetle actively flying before fertilization does not fly in the same environmental conditions after fertilization.

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Studying of the bee’s behavior revealed that they are very capable of learning.

For instance, it is quite easy to teach bees distinguishing geometrical figures: i.e. taking food from vessels of certain shape and color.

Also, it turned out that bees can communicate with each other and convey information. A bee, which found food and came back to the nest, by means of making certain bodily movements can explain to other bees the direction to which they have to fly to find food.

Scientists studying the behavior of ants also discovered that they have language of movements, for example, “give me some food”, “danger”, etc.

Especially complex behavior is observed in case of insects with social habits, i.e. those living in colonies and cannot exist in other way. Let us note that a colony of social insects is one family, posterity of one female (in case of bees, termites, ants).

Social insects have division of duties related to morpho-physiological peculiarities of particular groups of specimens. For example, there are specimens capable of reproduction — males and females (females are called also “queens”) — and specimens with undeveloped sexual glands incapable of reproduction, but capable of storing food, caring for larvae, guarding the colony, etc. A colony of social insects exists thanks to such a division of functions between different groups of specimens. And one should understand that without complex forms of communication and certain intellectual level, existence of such families would not be possible.