Insects' essential role in understanding and broadening animal medication

Insects have become exciting model organisms for studying animal medication due to their comparative ease of rearing and experimental manipulation, short generation times, and diverse levels of sociality.Adopting an inclusive fitness framework has revealed the importance of medication for maximizing both direct and indirect fitness.Historically, medication research focused on chemicals or behaviors directly toxic to parasites. Recent studies have investigated how animal medication modulates the host immune system, revealing limited evidence of a strong role.Insect studies have led the way in showing that nutrients and toxins can alter animal microbiomes and thereby modulate disease resistance.A better understanding of the ecological interactions between insects and their natural enemies and environment will help to establish the relative costs and benefits of animal medication. Like humans, animals use plants and other materials as medication against parasites. Recent decades have shown that the study of insects can greatly advance our understanding of medication behaviors. The ease of rearing insects under laboratory conditions has enabled controlled experiments to test critical hypotheses, while their spectrum of reproductive strategies and living arrangements – ranging from solitary to eusocial communities – has revealed that medication behaviors can evolve to maximize inclusive fitness through both direct and indirect fitness benefits. Studying insects has also demonstrated in some cases that medication can act through modulation of the host’s innate immune system and microbiome. We highlight outstanding questions, focusing on costs and benefits in the context of inclusive host fitness. Like humans, animals use plants and other materials as medication against parasites. Recent decades have shown that the study of insects can greatly advance our understanding of medication behaviors. The ease of rearing insects under laboratory conditions has enabled controlled experiments to test critical hypotheses, while their spectrum of reproductive strategies and living arrangements – ranging from solitary to eusocial communities – has revealed that medication behaviors can evolve to maximize inclusive fitness through both direct and indirect fitness benefits. Studying insects has also demonstrated in some cases that medication can act through modulation of the host’s innate immune system and microbiome. We highlight outstanding questions, focusing on costs and be