Danchin, Étienne, Isabel, Guillaume and Noebel, Sabine (2024) Culture in Insects. In: Oxford Handbook of Cultural Evolution Oxford Academic. Chapter 29. Oxford pp. 377-388. ISBN 9780198869252

Abstract

Does culture exist in insects? The answer is probably yes. No insect studies document patterns of behavioural variation among wild populations (i.e. traditions), but some lab studies offer major insight on the mechanisms that can potentially generate traditions. Hence studies on insect culture nicely complement vertebrate studies that often document persistent patterns of behavioural variation among natural populations without necessarily exploring the underlying mechanisms of social learning. This chapter reviews the evidence for insect social learning and suggests that this cognitive capacity is probably widespread in the taxon. The few convincing examples of insect culture, including the proposed case of cultural transmission of sexual preferences in the fruit fly allows testing of an integrative definition of animal culture that is applicable to any kind of animal from insects to vertebrates. The chapter concludes by briefly discussing the challenges for the future of the study of animal culture in insects and beyond.