Observing insects in the field is a challenging task and not always necessary to investigate behavioral traits. Major advantages of studying insects in the lab are the possibilities to manipulate experimental conditions and to establish stock cultures. Insect cultures can be maintained for hundreds of generations to reach genetic equilibrium with respect to the laboratory conditions.

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noldus_solution_ insect_lab.pdf	195.94 KB

Tim Gardiner, Ian Bland and Julian Hill (Chelmsford, UK and Parkville, Australia)

In the field, grasshopper nymphs may disperse from ‘spatially hostile’ homogeneous environments to heterogeneous habitats (longer grass) where there is adequate cover from predation or inclement weather. However, it is difficult to assess the velocity of walking and jumping movements of nymphs in the field as accurate assessment of the distance moved and the dependence of behavior on the prevailing meteorological conditions are significant problems technically. A camera system monitored with EthoVision was used in controlled laboratory conditions to determine the movement velocity of nymphs of the grasshopper, Chorthippus parallelus, throughout their development in homogeneous and heterogeneous environments.

Movements of nymphs in the homogeneous environment generally seemed to be random for all instars, with a high occurrence of jumping. However, in the heterogeneous environment, jumping was less frequent and consequently movement velocities, particularly of late instars (3-4), were significantly lower than in the homogeneous environment. Although tracking of grasshoppers is challenging with regard to the natural characteristics of these insects, EthoVision is a useful tool for accurately determining movement velocity in grasshoppers.

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pu_zoo_gardiner.pdf	108.03 KB

Anna Rasa (Bonn, Germany).

The behavior of most beetles is difficult to observe in detail. When it comes to a species like Parastizopus armaticepts, that is not only relatively small and active at night, but also performs most of its interesting behavior in a burrow, detailed behavioral observations in the field are impossible. In this article you can read about the development of a method of recording behavior on video-tape under semi-natural conditions in the laboratory, using The Observer.

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pu_zoo_rasa.pdf	81.66 KB

Stefano Colazza, Ambra Clemente and Marzia Rosi (Perugia, Italy)

Entomologists agree that effective utilization in pest control programs requires a detailed knowledge and comprehension of the behavioral relationships between the bitrophic system of parasitoid and host. This user story gives an excellent example of how the arrival of automatic video tracking systems (like EthoVision) has given this discipline the possibility to move from description towards a more systematic way of data collection.

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pu_zoo_colazza.pdf	83.16 KB