Unmated Queens in the primitively eusocial wasp Ropalidia marginata (Lep.) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae

Chandrashekara, K and Gadagkar, R (1991) Unmated Queens in the primitively eusocial wasp Ropalidia marginata (Lep.) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae. In: Insectes Sociaux, 38 (2). pp. 213-216.

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Abstract

In the primitively eusocial tropical wasp Ropalidia marginata, five out of eleven colonies studied had an unmated female as their queen. In two colonies this was the case despite the presence of another mated individual in the colony. We found no detectable differences between colonies with unmated queens and those with mated queens. We argue that in species such as R. marginata, where intracolony relatedness is expected to be low and where sociality is likely to be maintained because several individuals have opportunities for direct reproduction in the future, individual selection is likely to override "the good of the colony" and lead to such phenomena as that of unmated queens.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	Insectes Sociaux
Publisher:	Birkhäuser Basel
Additional Information:	Copyright of this article belongs to Birkhäuser Basel.
Keywords:	Ropa/idia marginata;Unmated queens;Individual selection;Evolution of sociality
Department/Centre:	Division of Biological Sciences > Centre for Ecological Sciences
Date Deposited:	08 Feb 2007
Last Modified:	19 Sep 2010 04:34
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/9470

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