ePrints@IIScePrints@IISc Home | About | Browse | Latest Additions | Advanced Search | Contact | Help

The evolution of eusociality, including a review of the social status of Ropalidia marginata

Gadagkar, R (1996) The evolution of eusociality, including a review of the social status of Ropalidia marginata. [Book Chapter]

[img]
Preview
PDF (Gadagkar, R. (1996) The evolution of eusociality, including a review of the social status of Ropalidia marginata. In: Natural History and Evolution of Paper-Wasps, (Eds.) S.Turillazzi and M.J.West-Eberhard, Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 248-271.)
Gadagkar 1996-In Turillazzi and West-Eberhard.pdf

Download (6MB) | Preview

Abstract

What is eusociality? Social insects, esj>ecially bees and wasps exhibit such a bewildering variety of social organizations that we would be quite lost without a sound classification and some technical terms with universally accepted definitions. A system of classification that is built along lines of progressively varying degrees of social organization and sophistication would be even more attractive. Michener (1969) has presented just such a system of classification that has been so popularized by Wilson (1971) that it has now the added virtue of being nearly universally acceptable. According to 'this systemof classification, eusocial insects (the only truly social insects, by definition) are defined as those that possess all of the three fundamental traits of eusociality namely: (1) cooperative brood care; (2) differentiation of colony members into fertile reproductive castes (queens or kings as the case may be) and sterile non-reproductive castes (workers) (simply referred to hereafter as reproductive caste differentiation); (3) an overlap of generations such that offspring assist their parents in brood care and other tasks involved in colony maintenance.

Item Type: Book Chapter
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Additional Information: Copyright to this article belongs to Oxford University Press
Keywords: Ropalidia marginata, Eusociality, Inclusive fitness theory, Ecological predisposition, Genetic predisposition,Physiological predisposition, Demographic predisposition
Department/Centre: Division of Biological Sciences > Centre for Ecological Sciences
Date Deposited: 01 Mar 2021 08:02
Last Modified: 01 Mar 2021 08:02
URI: http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/68053

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item