Emergence of cooperation and division of labor in the primitively eusocial wasp Ropalidia marginata.

ABSTRACT: In most primitively eusocial wasps new nests are initiated by a single female or by small groups of females. To study the emergence of division of labor (DOL) among the nest foundresses and to determine its possible effect on nest productivity we maintained newly eclosed females of Ropalidia marginata in small boxes with one, two, or three nestmate wasps of the same age per box. Only one wasp developed her ovaries and laid eggs in each box, while the other wasp(s) built the nest, brought food, and fed larvae, demonstrating the spontaneous emergence of reproductive DOL in the presence of more than one wasp. In nests with three wasps there was also a strong negative correlation between intranidal and extranidal work performed by the two nonreproductive workers, suggesting the spontane

SUBMITTER: Brahma A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5789922 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature