Trait databases have become important resources for large-scale comparative studies in
ecology and evolution. Here we introduce the AnimalTraits database, a curated database of …

Prior to leaving home, insects acquire visual landmark information through a series of well-
choreographed walks or flights of learning [1–4]. This information allows them to pinpoint …

Highlights•Insect lifestyles often correlate with variation in different regions of their brain.•Co-
option and subtle tuning of brain structures might mask neural adaptations.•Current …

Developmental studies of brain volumes can reveal which portions of neural circuits are
sensitive to environmental inputs. In social insects, differences in relative investment across …

Our understanding of how sensory structure design is coupled with neural processing
capacity to adaptively support division of labor is limited. Workers of the remarkably …

Obligate insect social parasites evolve traits to effectively locate and then exploit their hosts,
whereas hosts have complex social behavioral repertoires, which include sensory …

Alternative reproductive tactics (ARTs) occur when there is categorical variation in the
reproductive strategies of a sex within a population. These different behavioral phenotypes …

Jumping is a rapid locomotory mode widespread in terrestrial organisms. However, it is a
rare specialization in ants. Forward jumping has been reported within four distantly related …

Brain plasticity is widespread in nature, as it enables adaptive responses to sensory
demands associated with novel stimuli, environmental changes and social conditions …

Animals may gather information from multiple sources, and these information sources may
conflict. Theory predicts that, all else being equal, reliance on a particular information source …