The latest review of social parasitism in ants was published in 1990. Since then,
comparatively few new parasitic species have been discovered, but research has …

Female ants display a wide variety of morphological castes, including workers, soldiers,
ergatoid (worker-like) queens and queens. Alternative caste development within a species …

Robert Trivers is a pioneering figure in the field of sociobiology. For Natural Selection and
Social Theory, he has selected eleven of his most influential papers, including several …

Most ant species have two distinct female castes—queens and workers—yet the
developmental and genetic mechanisms that produce these alternative phenotypes remain …

We argue that caste determination, the process whereby females in the social Hymenoptera
develop into either queens or workers, is subject to kin-selected conflict. Potential conflict …

The extreme diversity of dispersal strategies in ants is unique among terrestrial animals. The
nature of ant colonies as social, perennial and sessile superorganisms is the basis for …

Sympatric speciation through intraspecific social parasitism has been proposed for the
evolution of Hymenopteran workerless parasites. Such inquilines exploit related host taxa to …

Study of social traits in offspring traditionally reflects on interactions in simple family groups,
with famous examples including parent-offspring conflict and sibling rivalry in birds and …

In this synthesis we apply coevolutionary models to the interactions between socially
parasitic ants and their hosts. Obligate social parasite systems are ideal models for …

Ant colonies are commonly thought to have a stable and simple family structure, with one or
a few egg-laying queens and their worker daughters. However, recent genetic studies reveal …