THE EVOLUTION OF INSECT SOCIETIES

The organization and evolution of insect societies has amazed natural historians since Aristotle. Charles Darwin considered social insects t o be a major difficulty for his theory of evolution by natural selecti on because they demonstrate a rich diversity of adaptation among steri le workers leading to a complex division of labour, something that sho uld not occur if variation in individual reproductive success is the g rist for the mill of natural selection, This article shows how divisio n of labour can self-organize from groups of cohabiting individuals wi thout the necessity of a Fast history of natural selection for co-oper ative behaviour. It then explores how more complex social systems may evolve.