Bourke A F, Ratnieks F L
Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, UK.
Proc Biol Sci. 2001 Feb 22;268(1465):347-55. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2000.1381.
Kin selection theory predicts conflict in social Hymenoptera between the queen and workers over male parentage because each party is more closely related to its own male offspring. Some aspects of the reproductive biology of the bumble-bee Bombus terrestris support kin selection theory but others arguably do not. We present a novel hypothesis for how conflict over male parentage should unfold in B. terrestris colonies. We propose that workers delay laying eggs until they possess information showing that egg laying suits their kin-selected interests. In colonies where queens start to lay haploid eggs early, we hypothesize that this occurs when workers detect the presence of queen-produced male brood in the brood's larval stage. In colonies where queens start to lay haploid eggs late, we hypothesize that it occurs when workers detect a signal from the queen to female larvae to commence development as queens. Our hypothesis accounts for previously unexplained aspects of the timing of reproductive events in B. terrestris, provides ultimate explanations for the results of a recent study of mechanisms underlying queen-worker conflict and helps explain this species' characteristic bimodal (split) sex ratios. Therefore, kin selection theory potentially provides a good explanation for reproductive patterns in B. terrestris.
亲缘选择理论预测，在社会性膜翅目昆虫中，蜂后和工蜂之间会在雄蜂父权问题上产生冲突，因为双方都与其自身的雄性后代关系更为密切。熊蜂的生殖生物学的某些方面支持亲缘选择理论，但其他方面则可能并非如此。我们针对熊蜂群体中雄蜂父权冲突应如何展开提出了一个新假说。我们认为，工蜂会推迟产卵，直到它们掌握了表明产卵符合其亲缘选择利益的信息。在蜂后较早开始产单倍体卵的群体中，我们推测，当工蜂在幼虫阶段检测到蜂后产出的雄蜂幼虫时，这种情况就会发生。在蜂后较晚开始产单倍体卵 的群体中，我们推测，当工蜂检测到蜂后向雌性幼虫发出的发育成蜂后的信号时，这种情况就会发生。我们的假说解释了熊蜂生殖事件时间安排中以前无法解释的方面，为最近一项关于蜂后 - 工蜂冲突潜在机制研究的结果提供了终极解释，并有助于解释该物种特有的双峰（分裂）性别比例。因此，亲缘选择理论有可能为熊蜂的生殖模式提供一个很好的解释。
