Summary: Behav Ecol Sociobiol (2004) 57:139­148
DOI 10.1007/s00265-004-0841-2
O R I G I N A L A R T I C L E
Aneil F. Agrawal · Jeremy M. Brown ·
Edmund D. Brodie
On the social structure of offspring rearing in the burrower bug,
Sehirus cinctus (Hemiptera: Cydnidae)
Received: 22 December 2003 / Revised: 21 July 2004 / Accepted: 3 August 2004 / Published online: 14 September 2004
Springer-Verlag 2004
Abstract Maternal-offspring interactions are important
in a variety of animals. Understanding the evolution of
these interactions requires that we also study the broader
social context in which they occur. To date, behavioral
studies on burrower bugs, Sehirus cinctus, have focused
exclusively on interactions between mothers and off-
spring. Here we ask whether these interactions occur in a
social context that extends beyond the family unit of a
mother and her own genetic offspring. Such social struc-
ture can arise from behaviors that occur before eggs are
laid, or from actions of individuals that occur post-

Source: Agrawal, Aneil F. - Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto
Brodie III, Edmund D. - Department of Biology, University of Virginia

Collections: Environmental Sciences and Ecology