Policing is more effective against eggs of non‐natal versus natal workers at early colony stages in a bumblebee

Eusocial insect colonies are vulnerable to exploitation by egg-laying workers arising either as natal reproductive or non-natal ‘drifting’ (intraspecific social parasites). Worker is potentially costly the colony, but queens and can counter its costs via egg eating (queen worker policing). Bumblebee exhibit laying both workers: collectively lay more eggs do so only after a specific point in colony cycle, ‘competition point’, whereas throughout cycle. These features create special opportunity investigate whether policing of worker-laid context-dependent (i.e. depends on origin and/or stage). We introduced artificial cells containing laid into bumblebee Bombus terrestris before their competition points observed fate eggs. In stages, majority were policed, demonstrating that was not activated point. However, pre-competition stage alone, smaller proportion workers' (15%) remained 20 h compared remaining (24%). More effective early cycle represents an adaptive, response when all normally unrelated colony.