Male soldier caste larvae are non-aggressive in the polyembryonic wasp Copidosoma floridanum

Polyembryonic wasps are the only parasitoids in which sociality has evolved. Theory implicates both competition and sex ratio manipulation in the evolution of a sterile soldier caste. However, investment in soldiers by males and females is predicted to differ depending upon how offspring are allocat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biology letters (2005) 2007-08, Vol.3 (4), p.431-434
Main Authors: Giron, David, Harvey, Jeffrey A, Johnson, Jena Anne, Strand, Michael R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aggression
Altruism
Animal biology
Animals
Caste
Competition
Competitive Behavior
Copidosoma floridanum
Evolutionary Biology
Female
Haplodiploidy
Hymenoptera
Larva - anatomy & histology
Larva - physiology
Life Sciences
Male
Social Evolution
Wasps - anatomy & histology
Wasps - physiology
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Summary:Polyembryonic wasps are the only parasitoids in which sociality has evolved. Theory implicates both competition and sex ratio manipulation in the evolution of a sterile soldier caste. However, investment in soldiers by males and females is predicted to differ depending upon how offspring are allocated to hosts and the mating system. Here, we compared male and female soldiers in the polyembryonic wasp Copidosoma floridanum. We found that male and female soldiers are morphologically identical. Unlike females, however, male soldiers were non-aggressive towards all competitors. We discuss these results in relation to theory and polyembryonic wasp biology.
ISSN:1744-9561
1744-957X
DOI:10.1098/rsbl.2007.0199