Resistance to and avoidance of stress slow aging and confer increased longevity in
numerous organisms. Honey bees and other superorganismal social insects have two main …

Body size is arguably one of the most important traits influencing the physiology and ecology
of animals. Shifts in animal body size have been observed in response to climate change …

Studies of division of labor have focused mainly on individual workers performing tasks.
Here I propose a shift in perspective: colonies perform tasks, and task performance should …

Conditions experienced early in development can affect the future performance of
individuals and populations. Demographic theories predict persistent population impacts of …

Highlights•We review recent progress in studies on DoL in reproduction and task
performance in bumble bees.•DoL and social organization are plastic in bumble …

Many bumble bee species are declining worldwide. Disease and habitat loss are two
contributors to these declines, yet little is known about disease transmission within bumble …

The ability to detect and remove dead adult bees is an essential part of honeybee colony
fitness that prevents the spread of pathogens. Fatty acid olfactory cues stimulate undertaking …

Highlights•We measured individual and collective disease protection in acorn
ants.•Colonies with stronger individual protection had weaker collective …

Antagonistic interactions impose pressures that can trigger shifts in defensive phenotypes.
For instance, one natural enemy may activate defensive phenotypes that influence defenses …

Social insects are arthropods that lives in a community with other members of the same
species. Eusocial insects frequently lose colony members as a result of living in big …