Social Insects

• What is the definition of a species?

  A group of individuals from the same species that live in a cooperative manner. Has arisen many times in separate hexapoda orders
• What is the benefit of being social?

  Fortress defenders

  Sharing of endosymbionts

  Kin selection and halodiploidy

  
• What is the most common social behaviour in insects?

  Solitary (mass provision)
• What is being subsocial?

  Parental care of the young
• Communal insects? (Parasocial)

  Common nesting site?
• What is are the traits of eusocial insects?

  Common nesting site

  Cooperative care of insect brood

  Generational Overlap

  Division of labor
• Colony Organization: Physical Aggresiveness?

  Bite, kick, antennae fights

  Happen in small nests with castes similar in appearance
• Colony Organization: Physical Aggresiveness?

  Division of labor is generational and age based
• Colony Organization: Primer Pheromones?

  Large nests, castes are different in appearance
• Colony Organization: Primer Pheromones?

  Division of labour is morphological and age based
• Termite: Reproductives?

  King and queen, mate for life
• What do king and queen termite phermones do?

  Prevent their offspring from molting and turning into reproductives
• What does the termite queen produce?

  A parthenogenetic clone of the primary queen in case she dies

  
• Are hymenopterans a eusocial order?

  yes

  ants, apidae, and vespidae

  
• Are leaf cutter ants eusocial?

  Yes

  They have caste polymorphism and polyethism
• What are other eusocial orders?

  Aphids, thrips, and beetles
• What is a hymenopteran worker closely related to?

  She is more related to her sister than an unfertilized male egg
• Are hymenopteran male haploid?

  Yes
• Are hymenopteran females diploid?

  Yes
• What is the basis for altruism?

  An individual must insure a gene gets as many copies of itself into the population
• What are independent founded nests?

  Mated queen or termite couple finds a nest site
• What are swarm nests?

  A new queen is send out with part of her colony
• What is the advantage of being founded by a swarm?

  Risk shard by many, food can be carried, many individuals
• What are the disadvantages of a swarm?

  Carry parasites and diseases
• What are nest parasites?

  Food raiders, steal eggs, larvae, and pupae. Found in 17 orders
• What is an example of a nest parasite?

  Rove beetles

  
• What do colonies share?

  inclusive fitness and altruism