Description
Book SynopsisIn this book, the biologist Raghavendra Gadagkar focuses on the single species he has worked on throughout his career. His years of study have led him to believe that ecological, physiological, and demographic factors can be more important than genetic relatedness in the selection for or against social traits.
Trade ReviewThis is a very readable introduction to facts and concepts by a leading authority on social wasps who has a deep understanding of evolutionary principles. Using entertaining anecdotes to illustrate important observations, Gadagkar expertly summarizes the remarkable studies he and his students conducted over a period of more than twenty years. A major accomplishment. -- Mary Jane West-Eberhard, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
This is a wonderful book about a detailed investigation of a single species of social wasp. Raghavendra Gadagkar and his colleagues have carried out a thorough study of Ropalidia marginata Lepeletier and developed ideas about the origins and maintenance of eusociality, currently topics of great interest...I have read [this book] twice from cover to cover completely captivated by the detailed studies on this social wasp. I have no hesitation in strongly recommending this book. -- M. E. Archer * Entomologist's Monthly Magazine *
Table of ContentsPreface Part I: Introduction 1. A Primer of Eusociality 2. In Praise of Ropalidia Part II: Social Biology 3. Some Methodological Necessities 4. Natural History 5. Behavioral Caste Differentiation 6. Dominance Behavior and Regulation of Worker Activity 7. Age and Division of Labor Part III: The Evolution of Eusociality 8. The Theoretical Framework 9. Genetic Predisposition I: Intracolony Genetic Relatedness 10. Genetic Predisposition II: Kin and Nestmate Recognition 11. Ecological Predisposition 12. Physiological Predisposition 13. Demographic Predisposition 14. Synthesis 15. Factors That Remain to Be Explored Part IV: Beyond Ropalidia marginata: Social Evolution, Forward and Reverse 16. A Route to Sociality 17. The Evolution of Caste Polymorphism 18. Reverse Social Evolution Summary References Index
