In the United States, imported fire ants are often referred to as red imported fire ants,
Solenopsis invicta Buren, black imported fire ants, S. richteri Forel, and their hybrid (S …

Ants can display modified behaviors that represent the extended phenotypes of genes
expressed by parasites that infect them. In such cases, the modifications benefit the parasite …

Eusociality represents an extreme form of social behavior characterized by a reproductive
division of labor. Eusociality necessarily evolved through kin selection, which requires …

Genetic variation for partner quality in mutualisms is an evolutionary paradox. One possible
resolution to this puzzle is that there is a tradeoff between partner quality and other fitness …

The ants are extraordinary in having evolved many lineages that exploit closely related ant
societies as social parasites, but social parasitism by distantly related ants is rare. Here we …

Bacterial symbionts are important fitness determinants of insects. Some hosts have
independently acquired taxonomically related microbes to meet similar challenges, but …

Megalomyrmex Forel is a distinctive lineage of Neotropical ants, some of which are
specialized parasites or predators of the fungus-growing ants Attini. Here we review and key …

Ant microgynes are miniaturized queen forms found together with normal queens
(macrogynes) in species occurring across the ant phylogeny. Their role is not yet fully …

Like organisms, cohesive social groups such as insect colonies grow from a few individuals
to large and complex integrated systems. Growth is driven by the interplay between intrinsic …

Social parasites exploit other societies by invading and stealing resources. Some enter
protected nests using offensive chemical weaponry made from alkaloid-based venom. We …