DNA-FINGERPRINTING ANALYSIS OF PARENT-OFFSPRING CONFLICT IN A BEE

Demonstrating the importance of haplodiploidy in the evolution of euso ciality among the Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, and ants) requires estimat ion of four parameters: relatedness between cooperating individuals, e ffective mating frequency, sex ratio, and rates of worker reproduction . Multilocus DNA fingerprinting techniques permitted the precise deter mination of these parameters for the primitively eusocial bee Augochlo rella striata (Halictidae). DNA fingerprints revealed an unprecedented resolution of genetic relationships within colonies, detecting factor s such as intraspecific nest parasitism and diploid males that confoun ded estimates of relatedness and sex ratio, respectively. Parameter es timates (i) corroborate recent evidence for queen-worker conflict over the sex ratio and (ii) implicate the role of haplodiploidy in the evo lution of worker behavior.