The Social Biology of Ropalidia marginata

Toward Understanding the Evolution of Eusociality

Raghavendra Gadagkar

    Preface

    Part I: Introduction

    1. A Primer of Eusociality

    2. In Praise of Ropalidia

    Part II: Social Biology

    3. Some Methodological Necessities

    4. Natural History

    5. Behavioral Caste Differentiation

    6. Dominance Behavior and Regulation of Worker Activity

    7. Age and Division of Labor

    Part III: The Evolution of Eusociality

    8. The Theoretical Framework

    9. Genetic Predisposition I: Intracolony Genetic Relatedness

    10. Genetic Predisposition II: Kin and Nestmate Recognition

    11. Ecological Predisposition

    12. Physiological Predisposition

    13. Demographic Predisposition

    14. Synthesis

    15. Factors That Remain to Be Explored

    Part IV: Beyond Ropalidia marginata: Social Evolution, Forward and Reverse

    16. A Route to Sociality

    17. The Evolution of Caste Polymorphism

    18. Reverse Social Evolution

    Summary

    References

    Index

  • Cover: The Social Biology of <i>Ropalidia marginata</i>

Raghavendra Gadagkar is Professor and Chairman of the Centre for Ecological Sciences of the Indian Institute of Science and Honorary Professor at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research in Bangalore, India.