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Animal Behaviour: Evolution and Mechanisms pp 413–439Cite as

Extreme polyandry in social Hymenoptera: evolutionary causes and consequences for colony organisation

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Abstract

Polyandry, the multiple mating of females with more than one male, is a behavioural pattern found throughout the animal kingdom. In eusocial Hymenoptera (the bees, wasps and ants) polyandry is present in many taxa, and also the species with the highest degrees of polyandry known so far are found in this group. Polyandry has evolved multiple times and the genera with polyandrous species provide excellent test systems to study the evolution of multiple mating and its consequences for natural selection. Polyandrous colonies are composed of many paternal subfamilies (= patrilines), creating conflict potential on the one hand, and a template for variability among the colony members on the other hand.

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  1. Institute of Biology, University of Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany

    F. Bernhard Kraus & Robin F.A. Moritz

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  1. F. Bernhard Kraus
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  1. Dept. of Sociobiology/Anthropology & CRC Evolution of Social Behavior & German Primate Center, Behavioral Ecology & Sociobiology Unit, University of Göttingen, Kellnerweg 6, 37077, Göttingen, Germany

    Peter Kappeler

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Kraus, F., Moritz, R. (2010). Extreme polyandry in social Hymenoptera: evolutionary causes and consequences for colony organisation. In: Kappeler, P. (eds) Animal Behaviour: Evolution and Mechanisms. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-02624-9_14

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