Behaviour and Social Evolution of Wasps (Paperback)

Paperback. In this book, Ito presents data on tropical wasps which suggest that kin-selection has been overemphasized as an evolutionary explanation of sociality. He concentrates on the Vespidae (paper wasps and hornets), a group much discussed by evolutionary biologists because it exhibits all stages of social evolution:; subsociality, primitive eusociality, and advanced eusociality. The author reports field observations by himself and others in Central America, Asia,and Australia, showing that multiple egg-layers in a nest are not uncommon. Because coexistence of many `queens' leads to lower relatedness among colony members than in single-queen colonies, he suggests thatkin-selection may not be the most powerful force determining observed social patterns. Instead, subsocial wasps may first have aggregated for defence purposes in habitats with a high risk of predation, with mutualistic associations among many queens. Through parental manipulation and then kin selection, differentiation into within-generation castes may have followed.Of interest to all students of ecology, evolution, and behaviour, this book beautifully illustrates theability to combine wide-ranging data with thoughtful questions - the author's trademark. Of interest to all students of ecology, evolution and behaviour, this work discusses the significance of multi-queen colonies and the evolutionary pathways that may have led to observed social patterns. This item is printed on demand. Shipping may be from our UK warehouse or from our Australian or US warehouses, depending on stock availability. …