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Insect behaviour

Migratory bands give crickets protection

Nature volume 433, page 703 (2005)Cite this article

Predators are not so lucky in picking out a flightless insect from a marching mass.

Abstract

Mormon crickets and juvenile locusts form huge migratory bands — millions of individuals march in unison across the landscape1,2,3 and devastate vast agricultural areas, but little is known about why these bands form. Here we use radiotelemetry to show that band membership benefits these insects by greatly reducing the probability that they will become victims of predators. It is likely that migratory banding has evolved because it gives substantial protection to individuals within the group.

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Figure 1
Figure 2: Radiotelemetric mark–recapture study reveals anti-predator benefits for insects in migratory bands.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. US Department of Agriculture, Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory, Agricultural Research Service, Sidney, 59270, Montana, USA

    Gregory A. Sword

  2. Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, 27599-3280, North Carolina, USA

    Patrick D. Lorch

  3. Biology Department, University of Toronto at Mississauga, Mississauga, L5L 1C6, Ontario, Canada

    Darryl T. Gwynne

Authors
  1. Gregory A. Sword
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  2. Patrick D. Lorch
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  3. Darryl T. Gwynne
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gregory A. Sword.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Supplementary information

Supplementary Information

File contains additional methods and background information. (DOC 20 kb)

Supplementary Image

Image of band of Mormon crickets. (JPG 154 kb)

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Sword, G., Lorch, P. & Gwynne, D. Migratory bands give crickets protection. Nature 433, 703 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/433703a

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