Specialization in policing behaviour among workers in the ant Pachycondyla inversa

DOI to cite this document:: 10.5283/epub.5625

van Zweden, Jelle S. ; Fürst, Matthias A. ; Heinze, Jürgen ; D'Ettorre, Patrizia

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Date of publication of this fulltext: 05 Aug 2009 13:50

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Abstract

Most animal societies are non-clonal and thus subject to conflicts. In social insects, conflict over male production can be resolved by worker policing, i.e. eating of worker-laid eggs (WLE) or aggression towards reproductive workers. All workers in a colony have an interest in policing behaviour being expressed, but there can be asymmetries among workers in performing the actual behaviour. Here, ...