COLONY INTEGRATION AND REPRODUCTIVE CONFLICT IN HONEY-BEES

Honey bee colonies, although highly cooperative, are composed of genet ically distinct individuals with differing genetic payoffs from altern ative allocations of colony resources among potential reproductive ind ividuals. Therefore conflicts among colony members are expected. This paper analyzes the empirical evidence of these conflicts in sex ratio, nepotism in queen rearing, and worker production of males. Sex ratio conflict is expected to be minimal and hard to measure in honey bees, but behavioral studies might provide insights. Nepotism in queen reari ng has been investigated by several studies. The weight of the evidenc e suggests that weak nepotism does occur. This paper provides a reanal ysis of the data of one controversial study and compares the methods a nd results of others. Mixed negative and positive findings may be due to certain methodological differences, or to polymorphism for this tra it. Worker laying is much more common than has long bun thought, but n onetheless nearly all adult drones derive from the queen, because work er policing removes nearly all worker-laid eggs. Policing, both of egg s laid and worker ovary development, also may be responsible for compl ete sterility of most workers. Thus reproductive cooperation in honey bees is underlain by a low level of active conflict. (C) Inra/DIB/AGIB /Elsevier, Paris.