Insects Modify Mating Behavior Before a Storm, Study Suggests

Insects modify their mating behavior whenever they sense a drop in air pressure indicating rain is on its way, a new study suggests.

The study included three species of insects all from different orders, the mating behaviors of each the scientists observed under falling, stable and increasing air pressure conditions.

Using a device designed to measure an insect's response to an odor, the researchers exposed male curcurbit beetles to female pheromone extracts and then watched as the insects showed less interest in females whenever air pressure dropped.

The scientists also observed that when in direct contact with females, the males forewent courtship and went straight to mating when air pressure was low -- a behavior that, according to the researchers, may reflect a sense of imminent death.

Dr. Mauricia Bento from the University of Sao Paulo said this behavior "reduces the probability of injury and death of insects, which makes sense if you consider that high winds and rainstorms are life-threatening for them."

In the case of the other two types of insects -- the true armyworm moth and potato aphid -- females modified their calling behavior based on changes in air pressure in a similar manner, the researchers found.

Given that all the insects included in the study exhibited such similar responses to changes in air pressure, despite representing different orders, suggests that all insects have adapted so as to revise their mating behaviors to potentially bad weather, the researchers concluded.

They further noted that since many vertebrates feed on insects, the possibility remains that animals' foraging activity is disrupted in response to a decrease in air pressure, too. If true, this would mean that the effects of barometric pressure may impact entire ecological communities.

Going forward, the team of scientists plans on examining the mechanisms behind these adaptive behaviors.