Ant queen pheromones (QPs) have long been known to affect colony functioning. In many
species, QPs affect important reproductive functions such as diploid larvae sexualization …

Highlights•The major transition to superorganismality has occurred several times in the
Hymenoptera.•This paper highlights the importance of studying the early and intermediate …

Division of labor in social groups can be influenced by differential nutrition. Consumption of
more food or higher-quality food often affects individuals' capacities for reproduction. In …

Social insects can sense colony size—even without visual information in a dark
environment. How they achieve this is yet largely unknown. We empirically tested a …

Eusocial insects interact with a diversity of parasites that can threaten their survival and
reproduction. The amount of harm these parasites cause to their hosts (ie, their virulence) …

Over the past decade, the cause of sociality has been much debated. Inclusive fitness [br in
Hamilton's rule (br− c> 0)] has been criticized but is still useful in the organization of a …

In 2010, Nowak et al.([1]: hereafter cited as NTW) fired a broad salvo at the concept of
inclusive fitness, criticizing the underlying mathematics and proclaiming that the conceptual …

Eusociality represents a major evolutionary transition that arose independently in at least 12
insect lineages. Despite this prevalence, there remains considerable uncertainty …

Highlights•The major evolutionary transitions occur in a hierarchical progression.•Theory
divides this process into grouping, cooperation, and group integration.•Evolution from one …

In facultatively social species such as Xylocopa virginica (eastern carpenter bee),
individuals can breed either on their own or in groups, where resources are monopolized by …