Elucidating the molecular and neural basis of complex social behaviors such as communal
living, division of labor and warfare requires model organisms that exhibit these multi-
faceted behavioral phenotypes. Social insects, such as ants, bees, wasps and termites, are
attractive models to address this problem, with rich ecological and ethological foundations.
However, their atypical systems of reproduction have hindered application of classical
genetic approaches. In this review, we discuss how recent advances in social insect …