Social insect colonies have evolved collective immune defences against parasites. These
'social immune systems' result from the cooperation of the individual group members to …

Ecological immunology is a rapidly expanding field that examines the causes and
consequences of variation in immune function in the context of evolution and of ecology …

Abstract The order Chaetothyriales (Pezizomycotina, Ascomycetes) harbours obligatorily
melanised fungi and includes numerous etiologic agents of chromoblastomycosis …

We review recent advances in our understanding of the mechanisms of insect immune
defence, but do so in a framework defined by the ecological and evolutionary forces that …

During 400 million years of existence, insects have rarely succumbed to the evolution of
microbial resistance against their potent antimicrobial immune defenses. We found that …

Life‐history theory predicts that immune responses have evolved in the context of costs and
benefits. However, our understanding of the costs of mounting an immune response is …

The function of the immune system of an animal is to provide defence against infection, in
order to maximize fitness. Understanding this and, particularly, how limiting resources are …

Multiple mating by females (polyandry) remains hard to explain because, while it has
substantial costs, clear benefits have remained elusive. The problem is acute in the social …

Insect societies face constant challenges from disease agents. Ants deploy diverse
antimicrobial compounds against pathogens and the key sources are metapleural glands …

Social organisms are exposed to many pathogens, and have evolved various defence
mechanisms to limit the cost of parasitism. Here we report the first evidence that ants use …