The evolution and maintenance of sexual reproduction is believed to involve important
tradeoffs. Queens of social insects face a dilemma over the costs and benefits of sexual and …

One major advantage of sexual reproduction over asexual reproduction is its promotion of
genetic variation, although it reduces the genetic contribution to offspring. Queens of social …

Sexual Castes and Reproductive Strategies in Termites Page 1 Chapter 1 Sexual Castes and
Reproductive Strategies in Termites CHARLES N OIROT1 CONTENTS 1 Introduction 2 …

The question of how reproductives and sterile workers differentiate within eusocial groups
has long been a core issue in the study of social insects. Recent studies have shown that not …

Termites are social insects that live in colonies headed by reproductive castes. The breeding
system is defined by the number of reproductive individuals in a colony and the castes to …

Mixed modes of reproduction, combining sexual processes with thelytokous
parthenogenesis, occur in all major clades of social insects. In several species of termites …

Eusocial living influences mating system evolution if kin selection selects for a low number of
fathers to increase helper relatedness and helping incentive. Consequently, polyandry …

Background Sexual reproduction is the norm in almost all animal species, and in many
advanced animal societies, both males and females participate in social activities. To date …

Background A decade ago, the mixed reproductive strategy Asexual Queen Succession
(AQS) was first described in termites. In AQS species, the workers, soldiers and dispersing …

Parthenogenesis is a relatively rare reproductive mode in nature compared to sex. In social
insects, the evolution of parthenogenesis has a notable impact on their life histories. Some …