Do wild-caught fly larvae cooperatively forage?

ABSTRACT: Animals often form organized cooperative foraging groups, where individual members must adhere to specific rules to maintain cohesiveness. These groups face the challenge of managing potential intruders, who may or may not assist in foraging. In semi-liquid food environments, Drosophila larvae learn to synchronize their movements into clusters, which are thought to make feeding more efficient. Individuals who do not synchronize with the group are excluded from the cluster. Whether clustering behavior occurs in wild-caught larvae, and if so, the extent of their selectivity in group membership, remains unknown. Here, we show that clustering occurs across a number of fly species, and the capacity to join different clusters varies both between and within species. We collected and observed a la

SUBMITTER: Kuhar R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12003498 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature