More Than a Pest: Termites as Models for Evolutionary Transitions
By Thomas Chouvenc, Ph.D. The Formosan subterranean termite (Coptotermes formosanus) is an infamous termite pest species, but it is also an interesting model for studying the evolution of termites and […]
Ant and Termite Fossils Indicate Advanced Sociality 100 Million Years Ago
Insects that are “eusocial” live in colonies with closely related nestmates and display social behavior, including a division of labor. The best-known examples are honey bees, termites, and ants. All […]
Different Insect Species Use Different Chemicals to Identify Queens
For years it was thought that ants, wasps, and other eusocial insects used a common class of chemical compounds to distinguish queens from workers and other members of their colonies […]
A Few Genes Allow Some Ants and Bees to Switch Castes
Two insect species from Latin America, the dinosaur ant and the red paper wasp, have been used to uncover the molecular mechanisms underpinning queen and worker roles in social insects. […]