The Other Insect Societies

In his exploration of insect societies that don't fit the eusocial schema, James T. Costa gives these interesting phenomena their due. He synthesizes the scattered literature about social phenomena across the arthropod phylum: beetles and bugs, caterpillars and cockroaches, mantids and membracids, sawflies and spiders. Asked To Name An Insect Society, Most Of Us--whether Casual Or Professional Students Of Nature--quickly Point To One Of The So-called Eusocial Marvels: The Ant Colony, The Beehive, The Termite Mound, The Wasp Nest. Each Is Awe-inspiring In Its Division Of Labor--collective Defense, Foraging, And Nestbuilding. Yet E. O. Wilson Cautioned Back In 1971 That Sociality Should Be Defined More Broadly, In Order To Prevent The Arbitrary Exclusion Of Many Interesting Phenomena. Thirty-five Years Later, James T. Costa Gives Those Interesting Phenomena Their Due. He Argues That, In Trying To Solve The Puzzle Of How Highly Eusocial Behaviors Evolved In A Few Insect Orders, Evolutionary Biologists Have Neglected The More Diverse Social Arrangements In The Remaining Twenty-eight Orders--insect Societies That Don't Fit The Eusocial Schema. Costa Synthesizes Here For The First Time The Scattered Literature About Social Phenomena Across The Arthropod Phylum: Beetles And Bugs, Caterpillars And Cockroaches, Mantids And Membracids, Sawflies And Spiders.--publisher. Foreword / Bert Hölldobler -- Commentary / Edward O. Wilson -- Introduction : What's In A Name? -- The Ecology Of Social Evolution : Lessons From The Other Insect Societies -- Orthopteroidea. Dermaptera : Earwig Mothers -- Orthoptera : Hopper Herds And Cricket Families -- Embiidina : The Web Spinners -- Mantodea And Phasmatodea : Mantids And Walkingsticks -- Blattodea : Cockroaches That Care -- Psocoptera And Zoraptera : Barklice And Angel Insects -- Hemipteroidea. Hemiptera : Sternorrhyncha : Aphidoidea : Samurai Aphids -- Hemiptera : Auchenorrhyncha : Treehopper Herds -- Hemiptera : Heteroptera I : Terrestrial Bugs -- Hemiptera : Heteroptera Ii : Aquatic Bugs -- Thysanoptera : Communes And Family Fortresses. Neuropteroidea. Coleoptera : Beetle Societies I : Dung, Rove, And Carrion Beetles And Their Allies -- Coleoptera : Beetle Societies Ii : Bark And Ambrosia Beetles And Other Weevils -- Coleoptera : Beetle Societies Iii : Leaf, Fungus, Carrion, Darkling, And Whirligig Beetles And Their Allies -- Panorpoidea. Lepidoptera : Social Caterpillars I : Moths -- Lepidoptera : Social Caterpillars Ii : More Moths, And Social Butterflies -- Hymenopteroidea. Hymenoptera : Symphyta : Sawfliy Societies -- Noninsect Arthropods. Other Social Arthropods : Arachnids, Centipedes, Millipedes, And Crustaceans -- Coda : Sociality In An Appalachian Spring. James T. Costa. Includes Bibliographical References And Indexes. Asked to name an insect society, most of us--whether casual or professional students of nature--quickly point to one of the so-called eusocial marvels: the ant colony, the beehive, the termite mound, the wasp nest. Each is awe-inspiring in its division of labor--collective defense, foraging, and nestbuilding. Yet E. O. Wilson cautioned back in 1971 that sociality should be defined more broadly, "in order to prevent the arbitrary exclusion of many interesting phenomena." Thirty-five years later, James T. Costa gives those interesting phenomena their due. He argues that, in trying to solve the puzzle of how highly eusocial behaviors evolved in a few insect orders, evolutionary biologists have neglected the more diverse social arrangements in the remaining twenty-eight orders--insect societies that don't fit the eusocial schema. Costa synthesizes here for the first time the scattered literature about social phenomena across the arthropod phylum: beetles and bugs, caterpillars and cockroaches, mantids and membracids, sawflies and spiders. This wide-ranging tour takes a rich narrative approach that interweaves theory and data analysis with the behavior and ecology of these remarkable groups. This comprehensive treatment is likely to inspire a new generation of naturalists to take a closer look.