Defending your parasite: the effect of hairworm infection on male cricket behavior

Amanda Keck, Abbi Wright, Christina Anaya, Matthew Bolek

Abstract


Male house crickets (Acheta domesticus) exhibit aggressive territorial behaviors, especially in the presence of a female. Currently, there is limited information available concerning the infection of crickets with hairworms. We observed the variation of aggression shown by A. domesticus once infected with hairworms. The males were studied in an arena where various aggressive behaviors could be recorded. We found that there was a general increase in aggression by non-infected crickets as compared to infected crickets. However, this discrepancy was not significant. These results suggest that the energy of the infected cricket is being diverted elsewhere as a result of the hairworm infection.

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References


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