Social Insects Ecology and Behavioural Biology
Here is a guide to the ecology of social insects. It is intended for general ecologists and entomologists as well as for undergraduates and those about to start research on social insects; even the experienced investigator may find the comparison between
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Social Insects ECOLOGY AND BEHAVIOURAL BIOLOGY
M. V. Brian
LONDON
NEW YORK
Chapman and Hall
First published 1983 by Chapman and Hall Ltd 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE Published in the USA by Chapman and Hall 733 Third Avenue, New York NYlO017 © 1983 M. V. Brian Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1983 ISBN-J3: 978-94-009-5917-0 e-ISBN-13: 978-94-009-5915-6 DOl: 10.1007/978-94-009-5915-6
This title is available in both hardbound and paperback editions. The paperback edition is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted, or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Brian, M.V. Social insects. 1. Insect societies 2. Ecology I. Title 595.705'24 QL496
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Brian, M. V. (Michael Vaughan), 1919Social insects. (Science paperback) Bibliography: p. Includes index. 1. Insect societies. I. Title. II. Series: Science paperbacks. QL496.B83 1983 83-5299 595.7'0524
Contents
Preface List of plates 1 Introduction
ix x
1
2 Food 2.1 Termites as decomposers 2.2 Wasps and ants as predators 2.3 Sugars as fuel save prey 2.4 Seed eaters 2.5 Leaf eaters 2.6 Pollen eaters
15 18 26 30 32
3 Foraging by individuals 3.1 Foraging strategy 3.2 Worker variability
36 36 43
4 Foraging in groups 4.1 Communication about food 4.2 Group slave-raiding 4.3 Tunnels and tracks 4.4 Nomadic foraging
51 51 57 58 70
5 Cavity nests and soil mounds 5.1 Cavities and burrows 5.2 Soil mounds
74 74 84
6 Nests of fibre, silk and wax 6.1 Mounds of vegetation and tree nests 6.2 Combs of cells
94 94 98
10 10
7 Microclimate
7.1 Environmental regulation 7.2 Metabolic regulation 8 Defence 8.1 Painful and paralysing injections 8.2 Toxic smears and repellants 9
Food processing 9.1 Mastication, extraction and regurgitation 9.2 Yolk food supplements 9.3 Head food glands
10 Early population growth 10.1 Food distribution 10.2 Colony foundation 10.3 The growth spurt 11
VI
Maturation 11.1 Simple models of reproduction 11.2 Social control over caste 11.3 Males in social Hymenoptera 11.4 Maturation in general
113 113 119 128 128 133 146 148 150 154 161 161 165 172 182 182 186 197 204
12 Reproduction 12.1 Caste morphogenesis 12.2 Copulation and dispersal 12.3 Production 12.4 Summary
206 206 220 232 234
13 Evolution of insect societies 13.1 Theories of individual selection 13.2 Models of these theories 13.3 Group selection 13.4 Conclusions
236 236 243 245 246
14 Colonies 14.1 T
