Current Topics in Insect Biology

2 credits · Graduate

Social insects display sophisticated, complex, and fascinating behaviors that have contributed to their abundance and ecological success. Many species have also become valuable model systems for studying a variety of different topics in behavioral ecology, chemical ecology, the genetic and genomic basis of behavior, conservation biology, evolutionary biology, agroecology, and much more. In this class, we will review recent research that has used social insects as model systems, with a focus on ants, bees, and wasps, discussing one or two publications in depth during each class.