Seeley Thomas D
Museum of Comparative Zoology Laboratories, Harvard University, 02138, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Oecologia. 1978 Jan;32(1):109-118. doi: 10.1007/BF00344695.
The feral honey bee queens (colonies) of central New York State (USA) show a K-type life history strategy. Their demographic characteristics include low early life mortality, low reproductive rate, long lifespan, high population stability and repeated reproductions. Identifying the life history strategy of these bees reveals the general pattern of selection for competitive ability, rather than productivity, which has shaped their societies. Selection for competitive power explains the adaptiveness (compared with alternatives found in many other insect societies) of the large perennial colonies, infrequent but expensive offspring, and efficient foraging which characterize the social organization of these bees.
美国纽约州中部的野生蜜蜂蜂后（蜂群）呈现出K型生活史策略。它们的人口统计学特征包括早期低死亡率、低繁殖率、长寿命、高种群稳定性以及多次繁殖。识别这些蜜蜂的生活史策略揭示了塑造其社会的选择竞争能力而非生产力的一般模式。对竞争能力的选择解释了这些蜜蜂社会组织所具有的大型多年生蜂群、稀少但昂贵的后代以及高效觅食行为（与许多其他昆虫社会中的情况相比）的适应性。
