Sex Wars: Class Struggle In Bees
Wednesday, September 9, 2009 - 16:07
in Biology & Nature
It's not all balloons and ponies in bee colonies, despite what you may have learned. Bees are well known for high levels of cooperation but new research in Molecular Ecology says there is a conflict for reproduction between worker bees and Queens, leading some workers to selfishly exploit the colony for their own needs. The study focused on Melipona scutellaris, a Brazilian species of highly social stingless bees, found throughout the Atlantic rainforest. Colonies contain around 1,500 workers and are headed by one single-mated Queen. read more