Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Policing Every Egg You Lay
Sheffield University (UK), 13 November: Social sanctions, not voluntary altruism stop workers in insect societies from reproducing, according to a Brief Communication in this week’s Nature.
Workers of many species of ant, bee and wasp do not lay eggs despite having functional ovaries. Francis Ratnieks and Tom Wenseleers studied ten single-queen species– nine Vespidae wasps and the honeybee– to test theories of worker altruism, social coercion and cooperation. They found that when worker-laid eggs are killed by the queen or other workers, and when this type of 'policing' is effective, the advantage to workers of laying eggs is reduced. They argue that social sanctions are what discourage selfish behavior and quip that this is in line with better law enforcement leading to fewer individuals behaving antisocially in human societies.
(ResearchSEA)
Workers of many species of ant, bee and wasp do not lay eggs despite having functional ovaries. Francis Ratnieks and Tom Wenseleers studied ten single-queen species– nine Vespidae wasps and the honeybee– to test theories of worker altruism, social coercion and cooperation. They found that when worker-laid eggs are killed by the queen or other workers, and when this type of 'policing' is effective, the advantage to workers of laying eggs is reduced. They argue that social sanctions are what discourage selfish behavior and quip that this is in line with better law enforcement leading to fewer individuals behaving antisocially in human societies.
(ResearchSEA)
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