Social Biology of Insects

Presented on July 12, 2011 from 8:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m. at the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering & Bioscience (IBB), room 1128, Georgia Tech.Runtime: 54:34 minutesBiological complexity has increased through a series of major evolutionary transitions. One of the most recent transitions occurred when individually reproducing organisms came together to form integrated social groups. The transition to sociality is best exemplified by the social insects, such as ants, social bees, social wasps, and termites. Social insects have been ranked as ‘among the greatest achievements of organic evolution’ because of the extraordinary levels of cooperation. In addition, social insects have been extremely successful ecologically. In this presentation, I will introduce the life history strategies and evolutionary significance of social insects. I will then discuss aspects of research within my group aimed at understanding the molecular basis underlying sociality, the nature of selection in social systems, the breeding biology of social animals, and the process of self-organization in social groups