Foraging Behaviour

Abstract

The study of insect predator and parasitoid behaviour is as old as ethology itself. Since Tinbergen’s (1932, 1935), Salt’s (1934), Ullyett’s (1936) and Thorpe’s (1939) pioneering studies our knowledge of predator and parasitoid behaviour in general has expanded considerably, for several reasons. Firstly, technological developments have improved our abilities to observe animals, to record our observations and to analyse the often quite complicated data gathered. Secondly, our knowledge of the stimuli that elicit behaviour has improved immensely, so enabling us to study with greater precision the causal aspects of behaviour. Thirdly, there has been a shift in emphasis from the almost strictly causal analysis to the study of the adaptive value (i.e. function) of behaviour. This move has been greatly facilitated by the use of mathematical models that generate testable quantitative predictions.