Insect Sociality, Ecology, and Aquatic & Terrestrial Adaptations

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering insect sociality levels, haplodiploidy, ecological terms, bioindicators of water quality, aquatic functional feeding groups, and soil adaptations.

Eusocial

A level of social organization defined by three concurrent traits: cooperative brood care, overlapping generations, and a reproductive division of labor into castes.

Subsocial

A level of insect behavior in which adults exhibit some care for their young after egg laying, aggregate, or demonstrate a division of labor, but lack the full suite of eusocial traits.

Solitary

The condition of showing none of the three traits of sociality, though some solitary species (such as the Monarch butterfly) may still aggregate.

Communal

A social structure in which members of the same generation share the same nest without providing cooperative brood care (examples include Andrenidae and Megachilidae).

Quasisocial

A social structure where members of the same generation share the same nest and cooperate in caring for the brood (example: Euglossa orchid pollinators).

Semisocial

A social structure that is quasisocial (same-generation nest sharing with cooperative brood care) plus possesses a reproductive division of labor (example: Halictidae).

Haplodiploid

A reproductive and sex-determination system in Hymenoptera where males develop from unfertilized eggs and are haploid, while females develop from fertilized eggs and are diploid, resulting in full sisters sharing $\frac{3}{4}$ ($75\%$) of their genes.

Trophallaxis

The exchange of nutrients and alimentary fluids between colony members transferred directly from the mouth or anus.

Giant Water Bug (Abedus)

A subsocial hemipteran insect where the female oviposits eggs onto the male's dorsum and the male cares for and protects the eggs.

Ecology

The scientific study of the interactions between organisms and their environment.

Biotic factors

All the living organisms within an environment, including plants, animals, and microbes.

Abiotic factors

The non-living physical and chemical components of an environment, such as temperature, light, water, and nutrients.

Community

All the organisms living in a particular area, encompassing populations of different interacting species of plants and animals.

Habitat

The specific locality, site, and type of physical environment on or in which an organism lives.

Niche

The ecological role a species plays in a community, representing what an organism does for a living within its habitat.

Population

A group of individual organisms belonging to the same species that reside in a specific geographic location.

Ecosystem

The integrated system composed of the biological community of organisms interacting with all surrounding abiotic factors.

Biological monitoring

The practice of using living organisms, such as aquatic insects, to continuously assess water quality and habitat health by measuring species composition and comparing tolerant versus sensitive taxa.

Biotic Index Score

A score that indicates environmental health based on the classification and abundance of sensitive, semi-sensitive, tolerant, and semi-tolerant macroinvertebrate taxa.

Eutrophication

The introduction of an excess supply of organic matter into an aquatic ecosystem, often leading to oxygen depletion and the predominance of only a few hardy species.

Ephemeroptera (Mayflies)

An aquatic insect order used as a bioindicator whose population numbers decline in response to water pollution and increases in particulate matter.

Trichoptera (Caddisflies)

An order of aquatic insects whose larvae construct cases out of rocks and debris; high numbers indicate clean, well-oxygenated water, while few or no larvae signal decreased dissolved oxygen.

Plecoptera (Stoneflies)

An aquatic insect order characterized by flattened bodies and strong legs adapted for heavy currents, whose populations decline when water temperature rises.

Bloodworms (Diptera: Chironomidae)

Pollution-tolerant aquatic midge larvae that increase in abundance when dissolved oxygen levels drop significantly.

Lentic habitat

An aquatic ecosystem characterized by standing or non-flowing freshwater, such as ponds and lakes.

Lotic habitat

An aquatic ecosystem characterized by running or flowing freshwater, such as rivers and streams.

Kick seine

A large rectangular net attached to two poles used by collectors in streams to catch dislodged aquatic macroinvertebrates.

Shredders

A functional feeding group of aquatic insects that chew, mine, or gouge living or decomposing plant tissues, including coarse woody debris.

Collectors

A functional feeding group of aquatic organisms that gather fine particulate organic matter by filtering particles suspended in the water column.

Scrapers

A functional feeding group that grazes attached algae and diatoms from rocks, logs, and other submerged solid substrates.

Piercers

A functional feeding group that pierces the cell walls of vascular plants or macroalgae to suck out cell fluids and juices.

Hydrofuge structures

Water-repellent cuticular structures, such as the specialized hairs surrounding the spiracle of mosquito larvae or coating water strider legs, that permit suspension at the surface film.

Plastron bubble

A compressible or permanent layer of air trapped against an aquatic insect's body (such as water boatmen) that serves as an underwater respiratory gas reservoir.

Dung bells

Subterranean brood balls of manure packed by dung beetles inside soil burrows where eggs are deposited and larvae develop.

Saprophage

A soil or litter organism that consumes dead, decaying organic matter and detritus.

Xylophage

An organism that feeds specifically on wood and woody plant tissues.

Coprophage

An organism that feeds directly on excrement or animal dung.

Necrophage

An organism that feeds on carrion and dead animal corpses.

Mycophage

An organism that feeds exclusively or predominantly on fungi.

General rule of 10s

An ecological principle stating that approximately $10\%$ of the energy stored at one trophic level is transferred to the next level, while roughly $90\%$ is lost as metabolic heat or excrement.