02069nas a2200253   4500008004100000245009300041210006900134300001100203490000700214520123600221653001201457653001401469653002101483653001101504653001601515653002601531653002301557653002801580653002101608100001801629700002101647700001401668856013301682       2003                        eng d00aCaste fate conflict in swarm-founding social hymenoptera: an inclusive fitness analysis.0 aCaste fate conflict in swarmfounding social hymenoptera an inclu  a647-580 v163 aA caste system in which females develop into morphologically distinct queens or workers has evolved independently in ants, wasps and bees. Although such reproductive division of labour may benefit the colony it is also a source of conflict because individual immature females can benefit from developing into a queen in order to gain greater direct reproduction. Here we present a formal inclusive fitness analysis of caste fate conflict appropriate for swarm-founding social Hymenoptera. Three major conclusions are reached: (1) when caste is self-determined, many females should selfishly choose to become queens and the resulting depletion of the workforce can substantially reduce colony productivity; (2) greater relatedness among colony members reduces this excess queen production; (3) if workers can prevent excess queen production at low cost by controlled feeding, a transition to nutritional caste determination should occur. These predictions generalize results derived earlier using an allele-frequency model [Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. (2001) 50: 467] and are supported by observed levels of queen production in various taxa, especially stingless bees, where caste can be either individually or nutritionally controlled.10aAnimals10aevolution10aFeeding Behavior10aFemale10aHymenoptera10aHymenoptera: genetics10aNutritional Status10aSexual Behavior, Animal10aSocial Dominance1 aWenseleers, T1 aRatnieks, F, L W1 aBillen, J  uhttps://insectafgseag.myspecies.info/en/content/caste-fate-conflict-swarm-founding-social-hymenoptera-inclusive-fitness-analysis