scholarly journals Evidence for social parasitism of early insect societies by Cretaceous rove beetles

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shûhei Yamamoto ◽  
Munetoshi Maruyama ◽  
Joseph Parker
Keyword(s):  
Social Parasitism ◽  
Rove Beetles ◽  
Insect Societies

Drifting bumble bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) workers in commercial greenhouses may be social parasites

2004 ◽  
Vol 82 (12) ◽  
pp. 1843-1853 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna L Birmingham ◽  
Shelley E Hoover ◽  
Mark L Winston ◽  
Ron C Ydenberg
Keyword(s):  
Social Insect ◽  
Social Parasitism ◽  
Worker Reproduction ◽  
Bumble Bee ◽  
Nectar Robbing ◽  
Social Parasites ◽  
Aggressive Interactions ◽  
Insect Societies ◽  
Bombus Occidentalis ◽  
Behavioural Consequence

Commercial greenhouses require high densities of managed bumble bee (Bombus occidentalis Greene, 1858 and Bombus impatiens Cresson, 1863) colonies to pollinate crops such as tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum Miller). We examined drifting, a behavioural consequence of introducing closely aggregated colonies into greenhouse habitats, to determine possible explanations for observed drifting frequencies. Bee drift is normally associated with increased individual mortality and disease transfer between colonies. In this study, individual bees frequently drifted into and remained within foreign colonies. More drifting bees were found in colonies with higher worker and brood populations and greater pollen stores. Increased intracolony aggressive interactions were not associated with a higher number of drifting bees. Drifting bees had a significantly greater number of mature eggs in their ovaries than did resident worker bees residing in colonies hosting drifters, suggesting that drifting could potentially increase the fitness of individual worker bees and may not be solely a function of disorientation and (or) nectar robbing. Taken together, our results suggest that drifting of workers into foreign colonies within greenhouses may demonstrate a predisposition to social parasitism. This selfish worker reproduction challenges our previous understanding of social insect societies as being cooperative societies.

scholarly journals Intraspecific queen parasitism in a highly eusocial bee

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Wenseleers ◽  
Denise A. Alves ◽  
Tiago M. Francoy ◽  
Johan Billen ◽  
Vera L. Imperatriz-Fonseca
Keyword(s):  
Social Parasitism ◽  
Stingless Bee ◽  
Genetic Evidence ◽  
Reproductive Parasitism ◽  
Insect Societies ◽  
Great Excess ◽  
Eusocial Bees

Insect societies are well-known for their advanced cooperation, but their colonies are also vulnerable to reproductive parasitism. Here, we present a novel example of an intraspecific social parasitism in a highly eusocial bee, the stingless bee Melipona scutellaris . In particular, we provide genetic evidence which shows that, upon loss of the mother queen, many colonies are invaded by unrelated queens that fly in from unrelated hives nearby. The reasons for the occurrence of this surprising form of social parasitism may be linked to the fact that unlike honeybees, Melipona bees produce new queens in great excess of colony needs, and that this exerts much greater selection on queens to seek alternative reproductive options, such as by taking over other nests. Overall, our results are the first to demonstrate that queens in highly eusocial bees can found colonies not only via supersedure or swarming, but also by infiltrating and taking over other unrelated nests.

scholarly journals Inquiline social parasites as tools to unlock the secrets of insect sociality

2019 ◽  
Vol 374 (1769) ◽  
pp. 20180193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Cini ◽  
Seirian Sumner ◽  
Rita Cervo
Keyword(s):  
Social Parasitism ◽  
Division Of Labour ◽  
Social Parasite ◽  
Social Parasites ◽  
Insect Societies ◽  
History Of ◽  
Reproductive Division Of Labour ◽  
Insect Sociality ◽  
Taxonomic Groups ◽  
Reproductive Division

Insect societies play a crucial role in the functioning of most ecosystems and have fascinated both scientists and the lay public for centuries. Despite the long history of study, we are still far from understanding how insect societies have evolved and how social cohesion in their colonies is maintained. Here we suggest inquiline social parasites of insect societies as an under-exploited experimental tool for understanding sociality. We draw on examples from obligate inquiline (permanent) social parasites in wasps, ants and bees to illustrate how these parasites may allow us to better understand societies and learn more about the evolution and functioning of insect societies. We highlight three main features of these social parasite–host systems—namely, close phylogenetic relationships, strong selective pressures arising from coevolution and multiple independent origins—that make inquiline social parasites particularly suited for this aim; we propose a conceptual comparative framework that considers trait losses, gains and modifications in social parasite–host systems. We give examples of how this framework can reveal the more elusive secrets of sociality by focusing on two cornerstones of sociality: communication and reproductive division of labour. Together with social parasites in other taxonomic groups, such as cuckoos in birds, social parasitism has a great potential to reveal the mechanisms and evolution of complex social groups. This article is part of the theme issue ‘The coevolutionary biology of brood parasitism: from mechanism to pattern’.

The Major Transitions in Evolution

1997 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Maynard Smith ◽  
Eors Szathmary
Keyword(s):  
Full Range ◽  
Evolution Of Cooperation ◽  
Major Transitions ◽  
Insect Societies ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Major Transition ◽  
Life Itself ◽  
History Of ◽  
Emergence Of Cooperation ◽  
Multicellular Organisms

Over the history of life there have been several major changes in the way genetic information is organized and transmitted from one generation to the next. These transitions include the origin of life itself, the first eukaryotic cells, reproduction by sexual means, the appearance of multicellular plants and animals, the emergence of cooperation and of animal societies, and the unique language ability of humans. This ambitious book provides the first unified discussion of the full range of these transitions. The authors highlight the similarities between different transitions--between the union of replicating molecules to form chromosomes and of cells to form multicellular organisms, for example--and show how understanding one transition sheds light on others. They trace a common theme throughout the history of evolution: after a major transition some entities lose the ability to replicate independently, becoming able to reproduce only as part of a larger whole. The authors investigate this pattern and why selection between entities at a lower level does not disrupt selection at more complex levels. Their explanation encompasses a compelling theory of the evolution of cooperation at all levels of complexity. Engagingly written and filled with numerous illustrations, this book can be read with enjoyment by anyone with an undergraduate training in biology. It is ideal for advanced discussion groups on evolution and includes accessible discussions of a wide range of topics, from molecular biology and linguistics to insect societies.

Predator release from invertebrate generalists does not explain geometrid moth (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) outbreaks at high altitudes

2013 ◽  
Vol 145 (2) ◽  
pp. 184-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tino Schott ◽  
Lauri Kapari ◽  
Snorre B. Hagen ◽  
Ole Petter L. Vindstad ◽  
Jane U. Jepsen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Carabid Beetles ◽  
Birch Forest ◽  
Generalist Predators ◽  
Tree Line ◽  
High Altitudes ◽  
Lower Altitude ◽  
Rove Beetles ◽  
Northern Norway ◽  
Winter Moth ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms

AbstractOutbreaks of geometrid defoliators in subarctic birch forest in Fennoscandia often occur at high altitude in a distinct zone along the tree line. At the same time, moth larvae may not have an impact on the forest at lower altitude. Directly adjacent outbreak and nonoutbreak areas offer unique opportunities for studying the underlying mechanisms of outbreaks. Within two altitudinal gradients in coastal northern Norway, we investigated whether altitudinal outbreaks might be caused by release from pupal predation by ground-dwelling invertebrates such as harvestmen (Opiliones), spiders (Araneae), rove beetles (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae), carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae), and other beetles (Coleoptera). We predicted a consistently higher abundance of such generalist predators at low versus high altitudes. Our results did not support this prediction. There was no consistent altitudinal variation in the abundance of predators that could be related to zonal moth outbreaks in the birch forest slopes. In addition, none of the predator groups investigated showed any numerical response to a distinct outbreak of winter moth that took place during the course of the study. Consequently, localised moth outbreaks at the altitudinal tree line in northern Norway cannot be explained by the release from pupal predation by the predator groups examined here.

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