Social insects
Among social insects is understood insect species that live together in groups or Socialization of individuals of the same species, when individuals interact with each other, in particular forms of communication have evolved, and if the individuals involved to the benefit. For some researchers it is sufficient for the definition if the individuals form groups or aggregations that are evolutionarily advantageous, even if no communication mechanisms exist.
Social behavior in insects comes in many forms. The most integrated form of collaboration between individuals is called eusocial . The terminology is not entirely clear, as some researchers reject the term eusocial and do not use it themselves. In the past, all eusocial insects were simply called social. New terms were introduced to order the confusing diversity of social systems of different species.
Eusocial are all groups of insects that live cooperatively in colonies and know a division of labor between different castes . These include termites , ants , many bees - and a number of wasp species .
Although they only make up 2% of the insect species, they make up half of the insect's biomass.
The counterpart to social insects are solitary insects .
literature
- James T. Costa: The Other Insect Societies. Harvard University Press, 2006. ISBN 978 0674021631 .
- Edward O. Wilson : The Insect Societies. Cambridge, Mass., Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1971. ISBN 0674454901
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Dénes Lörinczy: The Nature of Biological Systems as Revealed by Thermal Methods . Springer Science, 2006, p. 250-283 (English).