Insect Senses and Communication

Aposematic coloration

The bright coloration of animals with effective physical or chemical defenses that acts as a warning to predators.

Pigment

A chemical compound that absorbs specific wavelengths of light, producing color.

Diffraction

When light waves are scattered or bent differentially in different directions making the object appear to change colors depending on the angle of the view.

Bioluminescence

the production of light by means of a chemical reaction in an organism that converts chemical energy to light energy.

Luciferin

The chemical which produces light in insects when combined with ATP and the enzyme luciferase.

Luciferase

The enzyme required to facilitate bioluminescence with the chemical luciferin.

Mechanoreceptors

Sensory receptors that respond to mechanical stimuli, such as from pressure, sound, or gravity.

Trichoid sensillae

Hairlike seta with a single neuron at the base, that is sensitive to touch.

Chordotonal sensillae

Located internally between joints, they detect movements of the insect between points of attachment; some can detect sound vibrations and are found in tympana.

Stridulation

Sound production by rubbing two body parts together.

Stridulatory organs

Arthropod body parts used to produce sound (e.g. cricket wings, grasshopper legs/wings).

Tympanum

Sound receiving organ in many insects.

Tymbal organ

Thin exoskeletal plate located over a sound-enhancing chamber.

Chemoreceptors

Designed to detect chemicals in the air and usually concentrate on antennae.

Pheromone

Chemicals released by one organism used to communicate with organisms of the same species.

Sex pheromone

Produced by adults of one sex to attract members of the opposite sex.

Aggregation pheromone

Causes insects to come together in some activity.

Alarm pheromone

Warns others of danger and can enable dispersal or coordinated attacks.

Spacing pheromone

Cause insects to move away, common when resources are limited

Primer pheromone

Directs which caste (morphological type, such as worker or soldier) is produced and can aid in function of the colony as a whole.

Trail-marking pheromone

Directs other organisms to food sources, usually in ants.

Allomones

Chemicals produced for between-species communication, which benefits the emitter by modifying the receiver's behavior.

Kairomone

A chemical released for between-species communication, that is beneficial to the receiver but detrimental to the emitter.

Synomone

A chemical produced for between-species communication that benefits both the emitter and the receiver.