Social insects Research Papers

2025, Science And Animal Health

At the nature, bees consume pollen and nectar to obtain its nutrients (proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals). Changes in bee pastures have occurred as green areas and forests have been replaced by agricultural areas affecting colony health and productivity. Because of this, the efficiency of artificial protein diets for the Africanized honey bee (Apis mellifera, L.) was evaluated - considering the total protein content of the hemolymph, weight of the bees, and dietary consumption. The crude protein of the diets ranged from 12.2 to 24.4%. Newly emerged workers were caged and kept in an incubator with controlled temperature and humidity until six days old, receiving diets and water ad libitum. Hemolymph was collected from 0- and 6-day-old workers. Comparing the diets, significant differences in the protein content in the hemolymph, bee weight, and diet consumption were found among the treatments. A diet composed of 20% sugarcane yeast, 20% textured soy protein, and ...

2025, Journal of Genetics

Caste polymorphism, defined as the presence within a colony of two or more morphologically differentiated individuals of the same sex, is an important character of highly eusocial insects both in the Hymenoptera (ants, bees and wasps) and in the Isoptera (termites), the only two groups in the animal kingdom where highly eusocial species occur. Frequently, caste polymorphism extends beyond mere variations in size (although the extent of variations in size can be in the extreme) and is accompanied by allometric variations in certain body parts. How such polymorphism has evolved and why, in its extreme form, it is essentially restricted to the social insects are questions of obvious interest but without satisfactory answers at the present time. I present a hypothesis entitled 'genetic release followed by diversifying evolution', that provides potential answers to these questions. I argue that genetic release followed by diversifying evolution is made possible under a number of circumstances. One of them I propose is when some individuals in a species begin to rely on the indirect component of inclusive fitness while others continue to rely largely on the direct component, as workers and queens in social insects are expected to do. Thus when queens begin to rely on workers for most of the foraging, nest building and brood care, and workers begin to rely increasingly on queens to lay eggs-when queen traits and worker traits do not have to be expressed in the same individual-1 postulate the relaxation of stabilizing selection and new spurts of directional selection on both queen-trait genes and worker-trait genes (in contrasting directions) leading to caste polymorphism.

2025, Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology

The relation of age to division of labor was assessed in a primitively eusocial wasp, Ropalidia marginata. The performance of four functionally signi®cant tasks was analyzed. It was found that age has a de®nite correlation with division of labor, since wasps performed tasks in a distinct sequence in their life with successive tasks being initiated at signi®cantly older ages. Age of a wasp was measured in absolute terms and also relative to other individuals in the colony. Probability of performance of a given task relative to other tasks (PTP) and absolute rates at which tasks were performed per unit time (FTP) both showed clear agedependent patterns, con®rming the association of age with division of labor. The proportion of variance explained for both PTP and FTP was signi®cantly higher with relative age than with absolute age. Interindividual interactions were found to be a potential mechanism through which wasps can determine their relative age. The advantages of work organization depending on relative age and the constraints imposed by absolute age are discussed.

2025, Journal of Genetics

Eusocial insects are those that show overlap of generations, cooperative brood care and reproductive caste differentiation. Of these, primitively eusocial insects show no morphological differences between reproductive and worker castes and exhibit considerable flexibility in the social roles that adult females may adopt. This makes them attractive model systems for investigations concerning the origin of eusociality. The rapidly accumulating information on primitively eusocial wasps suggests that haplodiploidy is unlikely to have an important role in the origin of eusociality. General kin selection (without help from haplodiploidy) could however have been an important factor due to the many advantages of group living. Pre-imaginal caste bias leading to variations in fertility is also likely to have some role. Because workers often have some chance of becoming reproductives in future, mutualism and other individual selection models suggest themselves as important factors. A hypothesis for the route to eusociality which focuses on the factors selecting for group living at different stages in social evolution is presented. It is argued that group living originates owing to the benefit of mutualism (the 'Gambling Stage') but parental manipulation and subfertility soon become important (the 'Manipulation Stage') and finally the highly eusocial state is maintained because genetic asymmetries created by haplodiploidy are exploited by kin recognition (the 'Recognition Stage').

2025, Arethusa

This article addresses the topos of bees and
ants in Roman literature as paradigms of collectivity.
Guided by a broadly structuralist methodology, my
discussion proceeds in two steps. First, challenging the
traditional assimilation of bees and ants reveals unique
ant traits moralized by ancient authors. Then scrutinizing
ant narratives from Vergil to Apuleius shows that ant
behaviors are imbued with imperial concerns. The ants’
combination of literary anthropomorphism and zoological
naturalism raises the issue of the unscrupulous sides of
Rome’s success and the socio-cultural norms affected by
that dominion.

2025, Insectes Sociaux

Coptotermes lacteus, a termite found in eastern Australia, is a central-site nester that constructs mounds up to 2 m in height. Mature colonies typically contain the primary king and queen, and up to a million or more worker and soldier offspring. Once a year, male and female nymphs are produced in approximately equal numbers and develop into new alates. Experimental removal of the queen in the field and subsequent mating of the king with a replacement queen, results in an unusual phenomenon whereby the production of female nymphs completely ceases, while the production of male nymphs, and workers of both sexes, continues. The proximate cause of this nymph male-bias is yet to be discovered. The production of male nymphs and workers of both sexes in de-queened C. lacteus colonies is equivalent to offspring production patterns in laboratory crosses of male nymphoid (nymph-derived) with female ergatoid (workerderived) replacement reproductives in the related species Reticulitermes speratus. An X-linked genetically influenced caste determination (GCD) mechanism has been proposed to account for such offspring patterns in R. speratus. We examined microsatellite genotypes in C. lacteus to test a prediction arising from the R. speratus GCD model: that nymphs should result from reproduction by neotenics, rather than the primary pair. In five of six colonies examined, genotypes indicated that all workers and nymphs were derived from a single reproductive pair. In three of these cases, the primary queen was also located and examined; her genotype matched that inferred from worker and nymph genotypes. These results suggest that the GCD model proposed for R. speratus does not apply to C. lacteus, at least under field conditions. The male-nymph bias following queen removal therefore remains an unresolved issue in C. lacteus.

2025, Advances in Physics Theories and Applications

The structural phase transitions of plutonium pnictides (PuAs and PuSb) have been investigated. The Extented Interaction Potential (EIP) model has been developed (including the zero point energy effect in three body interaction potential model). The phase transition pressures and associated volume collapses obtained from present model show in general in good agreement with available experimental data than others. The elastic constants and modulus of elasticity are also reported.

2025, Ecology and evolution

A long-standing goal of evolutionary biology is to understand how paleoclimatic and geological events shape the geographical distribution and genetic structure within and among species. Using a diverse set of markers (cuticular hydrocarbons, mitochondrial and nuclear gene sequences, microsatellite loci), we studied Reticulitermes grassei and R. banyulensis, two closely related termite species in southwestern Europe. We sought to clarify the current genetic structure of populations that formed following postglacial dispersal from refugia in southern Spain and characterize the gene flow between the two lineages over the last several million years. Each marker type separately provided a fragmented picture of the evolutionary history at different timescales. Chemical analyses of cuticular hydrocarbons and phylogenetic analyses of mitochondrial and nuclear genes showed clear separation between the species, suggesting they diverged following vicariance events in the Late Miocene. However,...

2025

Reticulitermes subterranean termites spread across South-western Europe for ages, but their distribution and their genetic relationships have evolved though several paleoclimatic and geological variations. Our study proposes to trace genetically and geographically the evolution of the Iberian species complex which has led to the separation of two lineages: Reticulitermes grassei and R. banyulensis. A large sampling area of 145 sites in Spain, Portugal, France and Morocco was investigated combining the analysis of diverse markers (cuticular hydrocarbon GC profiles, mitochondrial COI and COII sequences, ITS2 nuclear sequences and a panel of 10 microsatellite loci). Considered separately, each marker provided a fragmented picture of the evolutionary history of the two taxa at different time scales. Both mathematical analyses (ACP) of cuticular hydrocarbon profiles and phylogenetic analysis (BY, MP, ML, NJ) of mitochondrial and nuclear genes showed a clear separation between the R. grassei and R. banyulensis. In comparison to other European subterranean termites, these results would date their divergence back to possible vicariant events in the Late Miocene. However, the detection of intermediate chemical profiles and asymmetric mtDNA introgressions in some Spanish colonies suggests porosity in their genetic relationships. In fact, the current genetic structure of Iberian populations would be better explains by the isolation/dispersion alternations in Quaternary glacial periods. The genetic structure analysis of 15 localities accurately sampled along transects enabled the identification of the post-glacial colonization routes from southern Spain where heterozigosity is high to south-western France resulting in strong genetic bottlenecks after the passage across the Pyrenees. Finally, this study provides a nuanced answer to the question 'have R. grassei and R. banyulensis reached species status?'. If the presence of a mosaic of mixed colonies in Spain suggests that speciation was not completed on the Iberian Peninsula, French populations were completely separated according to a parapatric model.

2025, Sociobiology

Bioassays were conducted to examine the response of Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki and Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar) to whole body extracts of termites. Bioassays were also conducted to determine if trail-following behavior could be elicited in glass tubes after different lengths of exposure to termites and if termites showed any species-speciÞc response to exposed tubes. Trailfollowing behavior was elicited in both species in response to whole body extracts of their nestmates. Although C. formosanus responded to the R. flavipes extract, R. flavipes did not show a difference in response to the C. formosanus extract versus solvent-treated controls. Trail-following behavior was elicited in both C. formosanus and R. flavipes by glass tubes exposed to termites for 5 min. Although neither species showed a preference for glass tubes exposed to their nestmates over tubes exposed to termites of the other species, there were differences in the persistency of trail-following substances deposited in tubes by the two species. When tubes were exposed to termites for 5 min, trail-following behavior was elicited by tubes exposed to C. formosanus for at least 1 h after exposure, whereas termites no longer responded to tubes that were exposed to R. flavipes 10 Ð15 min after exposure. When tubes were exposed to termites for 14 d, termites deposited chemical markers which lasted for at least 8 d. There was no difference in the response of C. formosanus to tubes exposed to their nestmates versus tubes exposed to R. flavipes. However, R. flavipes showed a signiÞcant preference for tubes exposed to their nestmates over tubes exposed to C. formosanus. Because there was no evidence of a species-speciÞc response by R. flavipes to tubes exposed to termites for only 5 min, it is possible that chemicals in the feces or in salivary secretions deposited in tubes inßuenced the behavior of R. flavipes in tests using tubes exposed to termites for 14 d.

2025

Onemli bir lahana (Brassica oleraceae L.) zararlisi olan Mamestra brassicae (L., 1758) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)’nin biyoloji, zarar ve bulasiklik orani Erzurum’da 1999 ve 2000 yillarinda arastirilmistir. M. brassicae, kisi topragin 3-5 cm derinliginde pupa doneminde gecirmektedir. Ilk ergin cikisi, haziranin ilk haftasinin sonunda olmaktadir. Disiler, yumurtalarini ortalama 693 adet olarak lahana yapraklarinin alt yuzeyine birakmaktadirlar. Yumurta birakma suresi, 6-12 (8.4) gun surmektedir. Yumurtadan ilk larva cikisi haziran sonunda gorulmekte, cikan larvalar baslangicta yumurta kabuklariyla beslenmekte, daha sonra yapragin alt epidermisi ve parankima dokusuyla beslenmesini surdurmektedir. Besinci donem larva, lahananin gobek kismina girerek, burada beslenmektedir. Larva beslenme artiklari ve diskilari, lahana yapraklari arasinda gorulebilmektedir. Larva, bes gomlek degistirdikten sonra, agustos basindan itibaren toprakta pupa donemine girmektedir. M. brassicae, genellikle kislama...

2025, African Journal of Agricultural Research

Termites are most pestiferous insects causing damage to crop and buildings. Their control still relies mainly on harmful chemical pesticides to the detriment of eco-friendly pesticides. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of three plant extracts on the survival rate of termite species, Macrotermes subhyalinus Smeathman and Trinervitermes geminatus Wasmann, known to cause damage to crops, vegetation and buildings in Togo. Cissus quadrangularis (Vitaceae), Pennisetum purpureum Schumach (Poaceae) and Vetiveria zizanoides Nash (Poaceae) extracts were examined for their termiticidal activity against these termites. Three formulations including acetone and hexane extracts and powder were prepared for each plant species at five different concentrations. Six replicas were made for each tested concentration with 30 workers per replica in the laboratory conditions. All the tested plants showed termiticidal activities by reducing the rate of survival duration of tested termites. T...

2025, International Journal of Biological and Chemical Sciences

L'étude menée sur les attaques des arbres par les termites sur le campus de l'Université de Lomé (Togo) a montré que 304 plants (92,40% de peuplement d'arbres répartis en 20 espèces) ont été attaqués par les termites. Les attaques des termites sur ces arbres se manifestent par la couverture des troncs et des branches par des galeries-tunnels et des placages de récolte des termites, par des racines, des écorces, du bois consommé entraînant la chute des feuilles, le dépérissement et/ou la mort de la plante. Les espèces de termites responsables des dommages causés aux arbres appartiennent au groupe trophique des xylophages. Il s'agit principalement de 5 espèces appartenant à 3 genres : Amitermes evuncifer Silvestri, Ancistrotermes cavithorax Sjöstedt, Ancistrotermes guineensis Silvestri, Macrotermes bellicosus Smeathman et Macrotermes subhyalinus Rambur. Les résultats de notre étude constituent un préliminaire indispensable pour la protection des arbres sur le campus contre les attaques des termites.

2025, ZooKeys

The present checklist of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Ambon is the first comprehensive overview of ant species recorded on the island during the last 150 years. The species list is based on literature and museum collections' records combined with data from our field survey in 2010. In total, there are 74 ant species and subspecies representing 34 genera and six subfamilies known from Ambon. Five of the species found in undisturbed forest were exotic and indicate the overall habitat degradation on the island. The largest proportion of Ambon ant fauna are species with affinities to the Oriental region and species of Oriental-Austro-Melanesian origin. At least 20% of the species are regional endemics. In comparison to other islands in the region, the Ambon fauna seems more diverse and better sampled; however it is clear that a large part of it still remains to be described.

2025, Proceedings of The Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Recent evolutionary models of reproductive partitioning within animal societies (known as `optimal skew',`concessions' or `transactional' models) predict that a dominant individual will often yield some fraction of the group's reproduction to a subordinate as an incentive to stay in the group and help rear the dominant's o¡spring. These models quantitatively predict how the magnitude of the subordinate's `staying incentive' will vary with the genetic relatedness between dominant and subordinate, the overall expected group output and the subordinate's expected output if it breeds solitarily. We report that these predictions accord remarkably well with the observed reproductive partitioning between conesting dominant and subordinate queens in the social paper wasp Polistes fuscatus. In particular, the theory correctly predicts that (i) the dominant's share of reproduction, i.e. the skew, increases as the colony cycle progresses and (ii) the skew is positively associated both with the colony's productivity and with the relatedness between dominant and subordinate. Moreover, aggression between foundresses positively correlated with the skew, as predicted by transactional but not alternative tug-of-war models of societal evolution. Thus, our results provide the strongest quantitative support yet for a unifying model of social evolution.

2025

Degree of morphological difference between queens and workers is an important characteristic used to infer the mechanism of caste determination and levels of reproductive conflict in insect societies. In the polistine wasps, the degree of morphological caste difference varies widely, ranging from absent to highly distinct. A lack of obvious caste differences would indicate that most females are totipotent (Strassmann et al. 2002, Mateus 2005), which predicts that reproductive conflict will be higher than in species with well-defined caste roles. For Neotropical swarm-founding polistine wasps (tribe: Epiponini), West-Eberhard (1978, 1981) suggested that castes may be post-imaginally determined in some species. Indeed, female reproductives resemble non-reproductives in morphology in a number of species, and this pattern has been found in Parachartergus Ihering, 1904 (Mateus et al. 1997;

2025, Zoologia (Curitiba, Impresso)

Studies of morphological caste syndromes in the tribe Epiponini help us to understand the evolution of social behavior in insects. Few studies have integrated morphological syndromes of various species from the same or distinct genera. We studied morphological differences between castes from three colonies of Pseudopolybia compressa de Saussure, 1854, in order to relate their caste syndrome with those of other species in the genus. We took eight morphometric measures and females were classified in relation to ovarian development and spermathecal contents. Females of Colony 1 (C1) present a higher distinction between castes than females of Colonies 2 and 3 (C2 and C3), and, in general, queens of the three colonies are larger than workers in some measures but smaller in others. In Pseudopolybia Dalla Torre, 1894, shape rather than size is a more important trait in caste divergence.

2025, Zoologia (Curitiba, Impresso)

2025, International journal of artificial intelligence

Foraging behaviour of stingless bee has specific characteristics and it is of interest to be adapted as an optimisation algorithm. Foraging behaviour of stingless bee either as an individual worker or as a colony is different from the foraging behaviour of other group of bees. This paper considers an optimisation algorithm based on specific characters of stingless bee. The developed stingless bee algorithm is then tested for solving an optimisation problem of a wireless network routing with residual energy cognizance. Elapsed time of the computation of the stingless bee algorithm is examined by varying node number using 5 nodes, 10 nodes, 15 nodes, 20 nodes, and 25 nodes. The larger number of nodes means there are more candidate of solutions. The reduction mechanism and the early termination mechanism used in the stingless bee algorithm are the important parts of the developed stingless bee algorithm. The two mechanisms distinguish the algorithm from other bee colony based algorithms.

2025

La vida en grupo ocurre cuando mas de dos animales, generalmente de la misma especie, permanecen juntos para moverse y sincronizar sus actividades. A pesar de que la actividad sexual es la finalidad de agruparse, el hecho de formar sociedades genera comunicacion y tendencias cooperativas. Esta practica es clave en la vida de muchos animales y juega un papel esencial en el desarrollo de ciertas conductas tales como: el establecimiento de jerarquias, defensa de territorio, depredacion, seleccion de pareja, busqueda de alimento, las conductas de agresion y la competencia. La vida en grupo debe estar dirigida al crecimiento de los integrantes de la sociedad sostenido gracias a la dinamica de los costos y los beneficios. En la vida en grupo los beneficios de la asociacion tienen que ser mayores que los costos, esto es, a un organismo le debe ser ventajoso agruparse en terminos de adecuacion.

2025, Journal of Applied Entomology

The invasive African big-headed ant, Pheidole megacephala, is a dominant species in the many areas it has invaded. We examined whether one potential reason for its ecological success might be its predatory efficiency. We compared the density of termite nests in an area of Mexico invaded by P. megacephala with an adjacent area where P. megacephala is not present. We also compared the success of P. megacephala in preying on termites with that of 13 native ant species. We found that termite nest density was significantly lower in areas invaded by P. megacephala (0.33 vs. 1.05 nests per 30 m transect). In field trials, we established that P. megacephala workers were significantly more successful at capturing termite workers from termite nest fragments than even the most successful native ant species, Dorymyrmex pyramicus. For both P. megacephala and D. pyramicus, single scouts could trigger the mass recruitment of nestmates, but P. megacephala was able to recruit greater numbers of nestmates. Combined with their aggressiveness towards other ant species, their highly efficient predatory capacities help explain the ecological success of P. megacephala and demonstrate how it can be a major threat to invertebrate biodiversity in the areas it invades.

2025, Plant Archives

Tasar silkworm Antheraea mylitta (D.) wild sericigenous insect which produces tropical tasar silk. It reared outside in wild conditions which attracts lots of pests and predators and among them, predatory wasps have become more significant over the past 3-4 years and have been observed in major tasar growing areas like Bankura and Patel Nagar (Suri) in West Bengal, Kathikund, Dumka, and Kharsawan in Jharkhand, as well as Baripada region in Odisha. The major predatory wasps of tasar silkworm are Polistes olivaceus, P. stigma, and P. strigosus. They are among the commonly observed species in the tasar ecosystem, and they pose a substantial threat to the well-being of the tasar silkworm if left uncontrolled. The Polistes wasps are social insects that reside in colonies comprising drones, workers, and egg-laying queens. They construct paper nests using wood fibers or coarse, papery materials and communicate through the use of pheromones. Polistes wasps exhibit remarkable efficiency and intelligence as versatile predators, covering long distances to find prey and employing a combination of hovering and walking on plants to locate their quarry. They are attracted to plants emitting frass odours and those that have been subjected to herbivore-induced damage. The article provides an overview of the management and challenges associated with controlling predatory wasps in tasar sericulture and it is concluded by emphasizing the need for further research to develop effective management strategies for controlling predatory wasps in tasar sericulture.

2025, Journal of Plant Protection

The composition of pathogen and insect pests on anise (illicium verum) was investigated in Van Quan, Cao Loc, Loc Binh, Binh Gia and Bac Son districts of Lang Son province in 2013. We have detected and collected 60 insect species; 33 out of them were identified scientific name. They belong to 18 families and 4 insect orders including Homoptera (14 species, account for 42.43%); Coleoptera (9 species, account for 27.27%); Hemiptera (6 species, account for 18.18%) and Lepidoptera (4 species, account for 12.12%). Among them, the most important ones are Oides duporti Laboissiere, Aphis sp.2, and Pogonopygia nigralbata Warrant. We have also detected and collected 9 diseases belong to 5 different orders including Melanconiales (3 species, account for 33.34%); Sphaerosidales (2 species, account for 22.22%; Trentephohliales (2 species, account for 22.22%); Capnodieles (1 species, account for 11.11%); and Moniliales (1 species, account for 11.11%). Among them, the most important pathogens are Cephaleuros virescens, Corticium sp. and Capnodium sp. Keywords: diseases and insects on anise,

2025, Insectes Sociaux

Orchid bees (Euglossini) provide a potentially informative contrast for examining origins of advanced social behaviour in bees because they are the only tribe in the apine clade that do not form large colonies or have queens and workers. We investigated natural nests of Euglossa hyacinthina Dressler, an orchid bee that nests singly or in groups. By comparing the two types of nests, we examined if individuals in a group merely share the nest (are communal) or exhibit a level of social organization where there is reproductive division of labour among the females. Observations are consistent with communal nesting, indicating that all females in group nests are reproductively similar to the solitary nesting females because the provisioning of young, as well as the ovary development and mating status of females sharing nests were not different than that of solitary-nesting females. Also, multiple female nests did not produce a female-biased brood as predicted for nests with reproductive division of labour. We also investigated potential advantages of group nesting vs. individual nesting. We demonstrate that per capita offspring production is lower in nests with more than one female. However, we found that nests with single females were left unattended for longer periods of time during foraging, and that there was a high incidence of natural enemy attack in nests when females were absent. Group and solitary nesting may be advantageous under different conditions.

2025, J. Asiat. Soc. Bangladesh. Sci.

Most monophlebid insects are highly polyphagous, dimorphic, and well-known sapsucking plant pests throughout the world. To determine their abundances, distribution, incidences, seasonal dynamics, feeding nature and the effects of ecological changes on their populations, an initial study (September 2004-August 2005) and a review study (March 2023-February 2024) were carried out in Jahangirnagar University Campus (JUC), Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh. The host plants (trees and shrubs) were examined through biweekly visual counts. In the initial investigation, 14,802 monophlebid insects from three species (Biodiversity Index or BI = 0.002, H = 1, D = 0.387, 1-D = 0.613, 1/D = 2.58, and EH = 0.91) were documented from 10 plant species. In the review study, a total of 423 insects under five species (two previously identified and three new) (BI = 0.141, H = 0.22, D = 0.917, 1-D = 0.083, 1/D = 1.1, and EH = 0.14) detected from five plant species, including one new species. Within around 20 years from the first study, the percentage of total plants and infested plants decreased significantly by 47.14% and 92.96%, respectively. The amount of insects decreased by 2.86%, while 87.67% of shrubs decreased (F = 5.8, df = 1, P = 0.07). The pest insects from trees and shrubs reduced by 3.67% and 0.45%, respectively. The identified most suitable host plant was Ficus benghalensis for sheltering maximum scale insect in both studies. The only insect pest, Icerya aegyptiaca was consistently abundant throughout the period in both studies. The insect, I. aegyptiaca was found available on every part of the plant, though the majority of them survived on leaves. The present findings might contribute understanding ecological imbalances and helpful for developing effective management strategies against these insect pests.

2025, J. Asiat. Soc. Bangladesh, Sci.

2025, Behavioral Ecology

The evolution of polyandry is a general problem in behavioral ecology that has attracted particular interest in the social insects. Most social insects are monandrous (i.e., females are inseminated by a single male), but approximately a third of species have evolved polyandry (i.e., females are inseminated by multiple males), which can reach extreme levels. One of the leading explanations for polyandry is that genetically diverse colonies may have improved division of labor because of genotypic variation in the propensity of workers to engage in particular tasks. Here we investigate whether there may also be genotypic variation in the ability to carry out a task, by examining the effect of genotype, as well as caste and age, on the foraging performance of workers of the leaf-cutting ant Acromyrmex subterraneus. Larger ants cut larger fragments of orange-impregnated parafilm, and did so more quickly than smaller ants, whereas older ants also cut larger fragments but were slower to transport them. Most importantly, we found that patrilines within colonies differed significantly in the size of fragment cut, and the speed of cutting and transporting fragments when controlling for both ant size and fragment size in the analyses. Certain patrilines were better foragers, often in multiple ways, whereas other patrilines were significantly worse at foraging. Genotype can therefore affect the ability of social insect workers to carry out tasks as well as their previously shown propensity to engage in them, providing an additional mechanism by which genetic diversity may be beneficial to social insect colonies.

2025, Behavioral Ecology

The ability of an organism to detect threats is fundamental to mounting a successful defense and this is particularly important when resisting parasites. Early detection of parasites allows for initiation of defense mechanisms, which are vital in mitigating the cost of infection and are likely to be especially important in social species, particularly those whose life history makes parasite pressure more significant. However, understanding the relative strength of behavioral responses in different species and situations is still limited. Here, we test the response of individual ants to fungal parasites in 3 different contexts, for 4 ant species with differing life histories. We found that ants from all 4 species were able to detect fungi on their food, environment, and nest mates and initiate avoidance or upregulate grooming behaviors accordingly to minimize the threat to themselves and the colony. Individuals avoided fungal-contaminated surfaces and increased grooming levels in response to fungal-contaminated nest mates. Ants from all species responded qualitatively in a similar way although the species differed quantitatively in some respects that may relate to life-history differences. The results show that ants of multiple species are capable of recognizing fungal threats in various contexts. The recognition of parasite threats may play an important role in enabling ant colonies to deal with the ever-present threat from disease.

2025, Heredity

Disease is one of the main factors driving both natural and artificial selection. It is a particularly important and increasing threat to the managed honeybee colonies, which are vital in crop pollination. Artificial selection for disease-resistant honeybee genotypes has previously only been carried out at the colony-level, that is, by using queens or males reared from colonies that show resistance. However, honeybee queens mate with many males and so each colony consists of multiple patrilines that will vary in heritable traits, such as disease resistance. Here, we investigate whether response to artificial selection for a key resistance mechanism, hygienic behaviour, can be improved using multi-level selection, that is, by selecting not only among colonies as normal but also among patrilines within colonies. Highly hygienic colonies were identified (between-colony selection), and the specific patrilines within them responsible for most hygienic behaviour were determined using observation hives. Queens reared from these hygienic patrilines (within-colony selection) were identified using DNA microsatellite analysis of a wing-tip tissue sample and then mated to drones from a third highly hygienic colony. The resulting colonies headed by queens from hygienic patrilines showed approximately double the level of hygienic behaviour of colonies headed by sister queens from non-hygienic patrilines. The results show that multi-level selection can significantly improve the success of honeybee breeding programs.

2025, Osmanlı Bilimi Araştırmaları

Plant diseases lead to significant yield losses in agricultural production, creating profound impacts in social, economic, and commercial domains. This study aims to examine in detail the historical development of phytopathology from the Ottoman Empire to Republican Turkey. The primary goal of the research is to shed light on the global history of plant pathology while addressing key milestones in the field and developments specific to Turkey. In particular, the invention of the microscope in the 17th century, the potato blight crisis in Ireland in the 19th century, and the impact of World War I in the early 20th century on the development of phytopathology are emphasized. Following the scientific and technological advancements in the West during the Ottoman modernization process played a crucial role in the development of phytopathology in Turkey. Although agricultural education began during the Ottoman period with the Tanzimat reforms, institutional shortcomings and the lack of sustainable policies prevented lasting progress during this process. During the Republic period, phytopathology education underwent a process of modernization, facilitating the advancement of significant scientific research in the discipline. Starting from the 1950s, phytopathology departments were established in universities, where relevant courses were offered, and extensive research was conducted in collaboration with agricultural pest control institutes. This process reveals how phytopathology evolved within Turkey's educational and bureaucratic structure and its effects on society. Öz Bitki hastalıkları, tarımsal üretimde önemli verim kayıplarına yol açarak, toplumsal, ekonomik ve ticari alanlarda derin etkiler yaratmaktadır. Bu çalışma, fitopatolojinin Osmanlı İmparatorluğu'ndan Cumhuriyet dönemi Türkiye'sini de kapsayan tarihsel gelişimini detaylı bir şekilde incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Araştırmanın temel amacı, fitopatolojinin küresel tarihine ışık tutarken, bu alandaki önemli dönüm noktalarını ve Türkiye özelinde yaşanan gelişmeleri ele almaktır. Özellikle, 17. yüzyılda mikroskobun icadı, 19. yüzyılda İrlanda'da meydana gelen patates mildyösü krizi ve 20. yüzyılın başındaki Birinci Dünya Savaşı'nın fitopatolojinin gelişimindeki etkileri vurgulanmaktadır. Osmanlı modernleşmesi sürecinde Batı'daki bil imsel ve teknik ilerlemelerin takip edilmesi, Türkiye'deki fitopatolojinin gelişiminde belirleyici bir rol oynamıştır. Tanzimat reformlarıyla birlikte Osmanlı döneminde tarım eğitimi başlamış olsa da, kurumsal eksiklikler ve sürdürülebilir politikaların olmaması nedeniyle bu süreçte kalıcı bir gelişim sağlanamamıştır. Cumhuriyet döneminde ise, fitopatoloji eğitimi modern leşme sürecine girmiştir ve bu alanda önemli bilimsel çalışmalar gerçekleştirilmiştir. 1950'lerden itibaren üniversitelerde fitopatoloji anabilim dalları kurularak, ilgili dersler verilmiş ve zirai mücadele enstitüleriyle iş birliği içinde kapsamlı araştırmalar yapılmıştır. Bu süreç, fitopatolojinin Türkiye'deki eğitim ve bürokratik yapı içinde nasıl evrildiğini ve toplum üzerindeki etkilerini ortaya koymaktadır.

2025

À minha mulher Fernanda Gonçalves Martins Maia, pela sua amizade, amor, carinho, companheirismo, compreensão, dedicação e paciência durante toda essa caminhada, Aos meus pais, Nilson Corrêa Maia e Tereza Braga Maia, pelo seu amor, dedicação e ensinamentos; aos meus irmãos Gecyara Braga Maia, Josenilson Braga Maia e Ozana Braga Maia pela amizade, amor e companheirismo, OFEREÇO.

2025

The critical features needed for long-standing structural protection against subterranean termites are chemical efficacy and stability of termiticides. Federal regulations concerning minimum product performance of termiticide treatments stress the importance of field-testing existing and candidate termiticides. Field tests are designed to simulate typical application conditions and provide the regulated community non-penetration data. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the termiticide Transport® in terms of providing structural protection and consumer satisfaction against Heterotermes aureus. Five residential structures were selected in Tucson for the study. None of the homes had undergone any treatment for termites within 12 months and all were of one construction type, frame stucco with slab foundations. The effectiveness of the termiticide Transport® in controlling Heterotermes aureus based on the five homes was very good. Termites were cleared in under a month when inspec...

2025, Journal of Hymenoptera Research

2025

Firstline® and Sentricon® Termite Colony Elimination Systems were monitored at 20 residential home sites in Tucson, Arizona for their ability to control Heterotermes aureus (Snyder) infestations. Firstline® and Sentricon® Termite Colony Elimination System were each installed at 10 homes. Five of the homes were designated either as curative (having active infestations) or preventative (having no active infestation). During the 2 year study, 3 residents terminated their involvement in the Firstline®, while all of the Sentricon® Termite Colony Elimination System homes remained in the program. Mean number of days to first hit at curative homes was 84 versus 96 for Firstline® and Sentricon® Termite Colony Elimination System, respectively. Average bait consumption for the Firstline® system was 14% for the curative homes and 10% for the preventative homes. In contrast, the average bait consumption for the Sentricon ® Termite Colony Elimination System was 51% for the curative homes and 58% for the preventative homes, which was significantly different at (P<.05).

2025

Je souhaite en premier lieu remercier mes directeurs de thèse, les Dr François Criscuolo et Dr Frédéric Bouillaud. François, tout d'abord merci de m'avoir choisie et fait confiance pour ce projet, merci pour ton écoute, ta bienveillance en période(s) de doute, et ton aide précieuse malgré la distance des deux premières années. Et pour finir, merci pour ta contribution à ce manuscrit. Frédéric, je te remercie pour ton accueil sur Paris, ton expertise précieuse, notamment dans la relecture des manuscrits et l'interprétation des résultats. Martin, Antman, je te suis également reconnaissante. Sans toi le projet n'aurait pas existé, et tu t'es toujours rendu disponible pour répondre à mes questions. Je tiens à remercier l'équipe parisienne dans laquelle je suis restée pendant deux ans : Renaud, Clotilde, Carina et l'adorable Véronique. Je salue également ceux qui n'étaient que de passage, ou qui ont quitté l'institut, comme Céline et Noureddine. Big up aux anciennes stagiaires qui sont devenues de bonnes copines, Khawla et Sarah. Et bien sûr je ne t'oublie pas Angèle ! On aura partagé une table de bureau pendant deux années, on aura ri, pleuré (un peu quand même), testé des trucs (à la paillasse comme à la salle ^^). A défaut d'avoir trouvé un protocole valable d'isolation de mitochondries de fourmis sur Paris, j'ai trouvé une très bonne amie . Bon courage pour tes derniers mois, mouvement du pied et « Attitude » ! Je tiens également à exprimer ma reconnaissance aux plateformes de l'institut Cochin, et notamment Thomas qui m'a formée et assistée dans les tests de microscopie en temps de vol. Le monde de la recherche implique de se faire des relations, et pas mal de collaborations. J'ai eu la chance de pouvoir profiter du réseau de Céline Cansell pour faire respirer mes fourmis, merci ! J'ai également profité de la gentillesse d'Hervé Colinet, et des doctorantes du laboratoire EcoBio, qui nous ont accueillies mes fourmis et moi pendant une semaine pour des mesures de respiration discontinue. Je remercie également Benoît Pinson pour ses mesures Ô combien précieuses de l'AEC, et sa disponibilité. Et un petit coucou à Steffi, copine du M2 et doctorante au MnHn, contrebandière et guide à ses heures ;-) Un peu plus à l'Est maintenant, ce sont les personnes du bâtiment 60 de l'IPHC que je souhaiterais remercier : en particulier Elisabeth, qui aura dû composer avec mon ordre de mission permanent bloquant mon compte etamine pendant deux ans (oups), et qui pour la science se sera mise au polonais le temps d'une commande de fourmis ; Sandrine qui veille dans les labos et qui est iii toujours là en cas de besoin ; les animaliers Hélène, David, Aurélie et Nicolas, qui s'occupent des colonies de fourmis; Astolfo, pour sa gentillesse ; JP, pour sa bonne humeur et sa playlist de fin de semaine. Un grand merci aux collègues doctorants, et une pensée pour mes colocataires de bureau Maëlle, Camille et Lilia, que je quitte bientôt et qui vont beaucoup me manquer. Maëlle, Cyrielle, mille mercis pour votre écoute et vos encouragements ! Je salue le travail de mon stagiaire, Valentin (et par la même occasion Julien Pétillon), pour son beau travail et son implication dans les mesures de respiration de mitochondries d'araignées. Je profite des lignes restantes pour remercier Fabrice, du département de Chimie Analytique, pour l'organisation des mesures, et ses nombreux retours sur le projet et les drafts. Je n'oublie pas Valériane, qui a récupéré mes isolations de mitochondries et les a préparées pour la protéomique, après avoir dû créer une nouvelle base de données ! Enfin, parce qu'une thèse est également une affaire de famille, j'exprime toute ma gratitude envers mes parents qui me soutiennent depuis toujours, c'est-à-dire longtemps. Merci Mamounette pour tes corrections de mails, et tes encouragements énergiques répétés (c'est un euphémisme), merci Papa d'être toujours là. Je remercie ma « chère soeur » Pauline (à lire à haute voix avec l'intonation de Mme Bennet), mon petit frère Quillian alias Quiqui la Quiche ou Tête de Baleine (si on veut l'énerver, mais à éviter maintenant qu'il frôle le 1m90), ainsi que tous les amis à quatre pattes de la maison, qui sont le meilleur remède contre le spleen (Maïka Macha Machkaïa, Dame Hiris, Maximilien Maximus Magnus I er de la Barbotine et Niambé). J'ai une pensée toute particulière pour mes grands-parents, ma tendre Mamie Gloue et mon Popen, les deux personnes au monde que je souhaitais le plus rendre fières, et qui m'ont toujours aimée, accompagnée et soutenue de toutes les manières possibles dans les étapes clés de la vie. Je regrette seulement qu'ils ne puissent pas voir l'aboutissement de ces trois ans de thèse. At last but not least, je tiens à remercier mon neveu Kymani, avec qui je n'ai pas besoin de me tenir, et faire semblant d'être adulte. Minou, mon copain de foot, le Neymar de Bretagne, le dormeur du Louvre, et moteur de mes premières recherches sur les mitochondries, ce manuscrit est pour toi. Merci au jury d'avoir accepté de me relire

2025

Bu calisma, Turkiye’nin Akdeniz Bolgesinde bulunan 8 ilde gerceklesmistir (Adana, Antalya, Burdur, Hatay, Icel, Isparta, K.Maras ve Osmaniye). Calismada elde edilen veriler, 2005 yilinda 198 alabalik ciftliginden yuzyuze anket yoluyla elde edilmistir. Bu calisma, alabalik ciftliklerinin sosyo-ekonomik gostergelerinin belirlenmesi ve bazi sorunlarinin cozumlerine yonelik olarak hazirlanmistir. Calisma kapsaminda anket sonuclari balik ciftliklerinin demografik, sosyal ve ekonomik ozelliklerine gore siniflandirilmistir. Oncelikle, alabalik ciftcileri orta yas sinifinda (%66,5), lise ve oncesi okullarda egitilmis (%78,3) olduklari saptanmistir. Alabalik ciftlikleri, mulkiyet yapisina gore ise genellikle mulk tipi isletmeler oldugu gorulmektedir (%76,8). Ekonomik anlamda, ciftciler balikciligi karada bulunan havuzlarda (%87,9) yurutmektedirler ve bu havuzlarin kapasitesi 2-16 ton (% 62,6) arasinda degismektedir. Ciftcilerin finansman kaynaklari oncelikle ozsermayeleridir (%78,8). Istihda...

2024

Quantifying the relative importance of visual and chemical channel, we found that the information about "alien status" is better conveyed by the visual cue than by the chemical one (paired t-test: t =2.37, n=30, p=0.027.

2024, Proceedings of The Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Understanding which parties regulate reproduction is fundamental to understanding conflict resolution in animal societies. In social insects, workers can influence male production and sex ratio. Surprisingly, few studies have investigated worker influence over which queen(s) reproduce(s) in multiple queen (MQ) colonies (skew), despite skew determining worker-brood relatedness and so worker fitness. We provide evidence for worker influence over skew in a functionally monogynous population of the ant Leptothorax acervorum. Observations of MQ colonies leading up to egg laying showed worker aggressive and nonaggressive behaviour towards queens and predicted which queen monopolized reproduction. In contrast, among-queen interactions were rare and did not predict queen reproduction. Furthermore, parentage analysis showed workers favoured their mother when present, ensuring closely related fullsibs (average r ¼ 0.5) were reared instead of less related offspring of other resident queens (r 0.375). Discrimination among queens using relatedness-based cues, however, seems unlikely as workers also biased their behaviour in colonies without a mother queen. In other polygynous populations of this species, workers are not aggressive towards queens and MQs reproduce, showing the outcome of social conflicts varies within species. In conclusion, this study supports non-reproductive parties having the power and information to influence skew within cooperative breeding groups.

2024, G3 Genes|Genomes|Genetics

Social wasps of the genus Vespula have spread to nearly all landmasses worldwide and have become significant pests in their introduced ranges, affecting economies and biodiversity. Comprehensive genome assemblies and annotations for these species are required to develop the next generation of control strategies and monitor existing chemical control. We sequenced and annotated the genomes of the common wasp (Vespula vulgaris), German wasp (Vespula germanica), and the western yellowjacket (Vespula pensylvanica). Our chromosome-level Vespula assemblies each contain 176–179 Mb of total sequence assembled into 25 scaffolds, with 10–200 unanchored scaffolds, and 16,566–18,948 genes. We annotated gene sets relevant to the applied management of invasive wasp populations, including genes associated with spermatogenesis and development, pesticide resistance, olfactory receptors, immunity and venom. These genomes provide evidence for active DNA methylation in Vespidae and tandem duplications o...

2024, TETRAMORİUM SP. COLONY DEVELOPMENT AND THE STUDY OF TETRAMORIUM COLONY BEHAVIOR THROUGH MULTI-QUEEN EXPERIMENT

This study investigates the colony development of Tetramorium species and observations on multi-queen colonies. Tetramorium is an ant genus that is widespread across various regions and can inhabit diverse environments. The study was conducted to monitor the colony development of Tetramorium queens collected from an area in Orta, Çankırı. The queens were observed following a claustral colony strategy (where the queen does not feed until the first workers emerge) and showed rapid development after protein supplementation. In the multi-queen colony experiment, two queens initially showed no aggression toward each other, but after 25-30 days, the dominant queen killed the other. This finding suggests that multi-queen colonies are not sustainable in the long term for Tetramorium species. Consequently, it was concluded that Tetramorium species typically form single-queen colonies, and multi-queen structures are unstable over time.

2024, Biology letters

Queens of Acromyrmex leaf-cutting ants store sperm of multiple males after a single mating flight, and never remate even though they may live for decades and lay tens of thousands of eggs. Sperm of different males are initially transferred to the bursa copulatrix and compete for access to the long-term storage organ of queens, but the factors determining storage success or failure have never been studied. We used in vitro experiments to show that reproductive tract secretions of Acromyrmex echinatior queens increase sperm swimming performance by at least 50% without discriminating between sperm of brothers and unrelated males. Indiscriminate female-induced sperm chemokinesis makes the likelihood of storage directly dependent on initial sperm viability and thus provides a simple mechanism to secure maximal possible reproductive success of queens, provided that initial sperm motility is an accurate predictor of viability during later egg fertilization.

2024

Morphological and chorological evidence is presented that Temnothorax saxonicus (SEIFERT, 1995) stat.n., comb.n. should be considered as parapatric closely-related species of T. sordidulus (MÜLLER, 1923), comb.n. Two new species, T. schoedli sp.n. and T. artvinense sp.n., are described from southeastern and northeastern Turkey. Including T. melas (ESPADALER, PLATEAUX & CASEVITZ-WEULERSSE, 1984), the T. sordidulus group comprises now a minimum of five species in Europe and Asia Minor. The morphological investigation system included 18 standardized numeric characters which were subject to a discriminant analysis. Leptothorax sordidulus var. tergestina FINZI, 1928 and Leptothorax carinthiacus BERNARD, 1957 are shown to represent younger synonyms of Temnothorax sordidulus.

2024, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society

The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between growth rate, final mass, and larval development, as well as how this relationship influences reproductive trade-offs, in the context of a gregarious lifestyle and the need to keep an optimal group size. We use as a model two sympatric populations of the pine processionary moth Thaumetopoea pityocampa, which occur in different seasons and thus experience different climatic conditions. Thaumetopoea pityocampa is a strictly gregarious caterpillar throughout the larval period, which occurs during winter in countries all over the Mediterranean Basin. However, in 1997, a population in which larval development occurs during the summer was discovered in Portugal, namely the summer population (SP), as opposed to the normal winter population (WP), which coexists in the same forest feeding on the same host during the winter. Both populations were monitored over 3 years, with an assessment of the length of the larval period and its relationship with different climatic variables, final mass and adult size, egg size and number, colony size, and mortality at different life stages. The SP larval period was reduced as a result of development in the warmer part of the year, although it reached the same final mass and adult size as the WP. Despite an equal size at maturity, a trade-off between egg size and number was found between the two populations: SP produced less but bigger eggs than WP. This contrasts with the findings obtained in other Lepidoptera species, where development in colder environments leads to larger eggs at the expense of fecundity, but corroborates the trend found at a macro-geographical scale for T. pityocampa, with females from northern latitudes and a colder environment producing more (and smaller) eggs. The results demonstrate the importance of the number of eggs in cold environments as a result of an advantage of large colonies when gregarious caterpillars develop in such environments, and these findings are discussed in accordance with the major theories regarding size in animals.

2024, Türkiye biyolojik mücadele dergisi

This study was carried out in olive orchards in Adana, Gaziantep, Hatay, Osmaniye, KahramanmaraĢ, Kilis and Mersin provinces of the eastern Mediterranean region between the years 2008-2010. In this study, it was aimed to determine parasitoid and predator species of Olive leaf moth [Palpita unionalis (Hübn.) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)] which is an important olive pest. At the end of the study, totally 30 numbers beneficial species from 9 parasitoids and 21 predators of P. unionalis were determined. Among these predators, Anthocoris nemoralis (Fabricius) (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) and Chrysoperla carnea (Stephens) (Neuroptera: Chrysophidae), as parasitoids of it; Trichogramma evanescens Westwood (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) and Apanteles brunnistigma Abdinbekova (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) were found as important predators and parasitoits. Here we report a new record for parasitoit A. brunnistigma on P. unionalis in the word.

2024, Türkiye biyolojik mücadele dergisi

2024, "Why Do Honeybees Dance?"

I have proposed that the dance movements of returning honey bees are not a communicative language but are only "idiothetic" movements. Information about the location of food is conveyed by odour.

2024, Trends in Parasitology

Like humans, animals use plants and other materials as medication against parasites.
Recent decades have shown that the study of insects can greatly advance
our understanding of medication behaviors. The ease of rearing insects under laboratory
conditions has enabled controlled experiments to test critical hypotheses,
while their spectrum of reproductive strategies and living arrangements – ranging
from solitary to eusocial communities – has revealed that medication behaviors
can evolve to maximize inclusive fitness through both direct and indirect fitness
benefits. Studying insects has also demonstrated in some cases that medication
can act through modulation of the host’s innate immune system and microbiome.
We highlight outstanding questions, focusing on costs and benefits in the context
of inclusive host fitness.

Social insects Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)