Chemical Variation among Castes, Female Life Stages and Populations of the Facultative Eusocial Sweat Bee Halictus rubicundus (Hymenoptera: Halictidae).

ABSTRACT: In eusocial insects, chemical communication is crucial for mediating many aspects of social activities, especially the regulation of reproduction. Though queen signals are known to decrease ovarian activation of workers in highly eusocial species, little is known about their evolution. In contrast, some primitively eusocial species are thought to control worker reproduction through physical aggression by the queen rather than via pheromones, suggesting the evolutionary establishment of chemical signals with more derived sociality. However, studies supporting this hypothesis are largely missing. Socially polymorphic halictid bees, such as Halictus rubicundus, with social and solitary populations in both Europe and North America, offer excellent opportunities to illuminate the evolution of c

SUBMITTER: Steitz I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8116247 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature