CONFLICT RESOLUTION IN INSECT SOCIETIES

Conflict resolution in insect societies.

Although best known for cooperation, insect societies also manifest many potential conflicts among individuals. These conflicts involve both direct reproduction by individuals and manipulation of the reproduction of colony members. Here we review five major areas of reproductive conflict in insect societies: (a) sex allocation, (b) queen rearing, (c) male rearing, (d) queen-worker caste fate, a...

Sex allocation conflict in insect societies: who wins?

Sex allocation in colonies of eusocial Hymenoptera is one of the best studied social conflicts. We outline a framework for analysing conflict outcome through power and the costs of manipulation and suggest that the conflict will often be unresolved because both major parties of interest, the queen and the workers, should manipulate allocation even at considerable costs to the colony. We suggest...

Territorial Approaches to Conflict Resolution in Divided Societies

Insect Societies and Manufacturing

In this paper, we present examples from the literature of successful problem solving systems that have been heavily influenced directly from biological studies of insect societies. Included among these systems are a few of our own. These examples are presented in light of manufacturing applications and only the tip of the iceberg is touched upon. It is our hope that the reader will find a new s...

Monogamy promotes worker sterility in insect societies

18 Inclusive-fitness theory highlights monogamy as a key driver of altruistic sib-rearing. Accordingly, 19 monogamy should promote the evolution of worker sterility in social insects when sterile workers 20 make for better helpers. However, a recent population-genetics analysis (Olejarz et al. 2015) found 21 no clear effect of monogamy on worker sterility. Here, we revisit this analysis. First,...