Strassmann J E, Nguyen J S, Arévalo E, Cervo R, Zacchi F, Turillazzi S, Queller D C
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005-1892, USA.
J Evol Biol. 2003 Mar;16(2):254-9. doi: 10.1046/j.1420-9101.2003.00516.x.
The resolution of social conflict in colonies may accord with the interests of the most numerous party. In social insect colonies with single once-mated queens, workers are more closely related to the workers' sons than they are to the queens' sons. Therefore, they should prefer workers to produce males, against the queen's interests. Workers are capable of producing males as they arise from unfertilized eggs. We found Polistes gallicus to have colonies of single, once-mated queens, as determined by microsatellite genotyping of the workers, so worker interests predict worker male production. In colonies lacking queens, workers produced the males, but not in colonies with original queens. Thus worker interests were expressed only when the queen was gone. The high fraction of missing queens and early end to the colony cycle relative to climate so early in the season is surprising and may indicate a forceful elimination of the queen.
殖民地社会冲突的解决可能符合多数群体的利益。在只有一只已交配一次的蚁后的群居性昆虫群体中，工蚁与工蚁所产雄蚁的亲缘关系比与蚁后所产雄蚁的亲缘关系更近。因此，它们应该更倾向于让工蚁产雄蚁，这与蚁后的利益相悖。工蚁能够产雄蚁，因为它们由未受精的卵发育而来。通过对工蚁进行微卫星基因分型，我们发现高卢黄胡蜂群体中有一只已交配一次的蚁后，所以从工蚁的利益角度可以预测工蚁会产雄蚁。在没有蚁后的群体中，工蚁会产雄蚁，但在有原蚁后的群体中则不会。因此，只有当蚁后消失时，工蚁的利益才会得以体现。相对于季节而言，蚁后缺失的比例较高且群体周期在如此早的时候就结束，这令人惊讶，可能表明蚁后被强行清除了。
