Conserved features of chronic stress across phyla: The effects of long-term stress on behavior and the concentration of the neurohormone octopamine in the cricket, Gryllus texensis

► First report that chronic exposure to flight-or-fight stress increases basal levels of a stress hormone in insects. ► Chronic stress had both negative and positive effects in crickets. ► Crickets lost weight, but were more capable of sustained flight. ► Increasing basal levels of stress hormones may be a common response in animals to poor conditions.