Many exciting studies have begun to elucidate the genetics of the morphological and
physiological diversity of ants, but as yet few studies have investigated the genetics of ant …

Ants are highly polyphenic Hymenoptera, with at least three distinct adult forms in the vast
majority of species. Their sexual dimorphism, however, is overlooked to the point of being a …

The breeding and non‐breeding 'castes' of eusocial insects provide a striking example of
role‐specific selection, where each caste maximises fitness through different morphological …

Bumble bees represent a taxon with an intermediate level of eusociality within
Hymenoptera. The clear division of reproduction between a single founding queen and the …

Sexually dimorphic traits in insects are subject to sexual selection, but our knowledge of the
underlying molecular mechanisms is still scarce. Here we investigate how the highly …

The major transition to eusociality required the evolution of a switch to canalize development
into either a reproductive or a helper, the nature of which is currently unknown. Following …

Long-term suppression of recombination ultimately leads to gene loss, as demonstrated by
the depauperate Y and W chromosomes of long-established pairs of XY and ZW …

Variation in social behavior is common yet our knowledge of the mechanisms underpinning
its evolution is limited. The fire ant Solenopsis invicta provides a textbook example of a …

Honeybees (Apis mellifera) have haplodiploid sex determination: males develop from
unfertilized eggs and females develop from fertilized ones. The differences in larval food …

Social insects have evolved acute mechanisms for sensing and mitigating the spread of
microbial pathogens within their communities that include complex behaviors such as …