D. Naug et R. Gadagkar, Flexible division of labor mediated by social interactions in an insect colony - a simulation model, J THEOR BIO, 197(1), 1999, pp. 123-133
The primitively eusocial wasp Ropalidia marginata shows an age-based divisi
on of labor in which workers allocate tasks according to their relative age
s (age ranks). This age polyethism seems quite flexible because in colonies
devoid of old workers, young individuals can perform the tasks normally pe
rformed by older workers. Social interactions appear to be a plausible mech
anism by which workers can assess their relative ages. To explore possible
proximate mechanisms that can potentially generate such a flexible, age-bas
ed task allocation, the activator-inhibitor model was adapted to the social
biology of R. marginata and tested using computer simulations. The model g
enerated a clear age polyethism including the phenomena of precocious forag
ers in colonies with only young individuals and reverted nurses in colonies
consisting of only old individuals. A simple extension of the model to all
ow the brood:adult ratio to modulate the rates of social interactions, show
s how increasing task demands can be met by a decrease in the ages of first
performance of, and an increase in the proportions of individuals engaged
in, various tasks. These results show how a pattern of division of labor ba
sed on relative age can be generated and modulated by social interactions.
(C) 1999 Academic Press.