Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

Aggression by polyembryonic wasp soldiers correlates with kinship but not resource competition

Nature volume 430, pages 676–679 (2004)Cite this article

Abstract

Kin selection theory predicts that individuals will show less aggression and more altruism towards relatives1,2. However, recent theoretical developments suggest that with limited dispersal, competition between relatives can override the effects of relatedness3,4,5,6,7,8,9. The predicted and opposing influences of relatedness and competition are difficult to approach experimentally because conditions that increase average relatedness among individuals also tend to increase competition. Polyembryonic wasps in the family Encyrtidae are parasites whose eggs undergo clonal division to produce large broods10. These insects have also evolved a caste system: some embryos in a clone develop into reproductive larvae that mature into adults, whereas others develop into sterile soldier larvae that defend siblings from competitors11,12,13,14. In a brood from a single egg, reproductive altruism by soldiers reflects clone-level allocation to defence at the cost of reproduction, with no conflict between individuals. When multiple eggs are laid into a host, inter-clone conflicts of interest arise. Here we report that soldier aggression in Copidosoma floridanum is inversely related to the genetic relatedness of competitors but shows no correlation with the level of resource competition.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Life cycle of C. floridanum in its host T. ni.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Hamilton, W. D. The evolution of altruistic behaviour. Am. Nat. 97, 354–356 (1963)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Hamilton, W. D. The genetical evolution of social behaviour, I & II. J. Theor. Biol. 7, 1–52 (1964)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Wilson, D. S., Pollock, G. B. & Dugatkin, L. A. Can altruism evolve in a purely viscous population? Evol. Ecol. 6, 331–341 (1992)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Taylor, P. D. Altruism in viscous populations—an inclusive fitness model. Evol. Ecol. 6, 352–356 (1992)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Taylor, P. D. Inclusive fitness in a homogeneous environment. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B 249, 299–302 (1992)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  6. Queller, D. C. Genetic relatedness in viscous populations. Evol. Ecol. 8, 70–73 (1994)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Grafen, A. in Behavioural Ecology: An Evolutionary Approach (eds Krebs, J. R. & Davies, N. B.) 62–84 (Blackwell Scientific, Oxford, 1984)

    Google Scholar 

  8. West, S. A., Murray, M. G., Machado, C. A., Griffin, A. S. & Herre, E. A. Testing Hamilton's rule with competition between relatives. Nature 409, 510–513 (2001)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. West, S. A., Penn, I. & Griffin, A. S. Cooperation and competition between relatives. Science 296, 72–75 (2002)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Strand, M. R. in Encyclopedia of Insects (eds Carde, R. & Resch, V.) 928–932 (Academic, San Diego, 2003)

    Google Scholar 

  11. Strand, M. R. & Grbic', M. The development and evolution of polyembryonic insects. Curr. Top. Dev. Biol. 35, 121–160 (1997)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Donnell, D., Corley, L. S., Chen, G. & Strand, M. R. Caste determination in a polyembryonic wasp involves inheritance of germ cells. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA (in the press)

  13. Cruz, Y. P. A sterile defender morph in a polyembryonic hymenopterous parasite. Nature 294, 446–447 (1981)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  14. Harvey, J. A., Corley, L. S. & Strand, M. R. Competition induces adaptive shifts in caste ratios of a polyembryonic wasp. Nature 406, 183–186 (2000)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Strand, M. R. Oviposition behavior and progeny allocation by the polyembryonic wasp Copidosoma floridanum. J. Insect Behav. 2, 355–369 (1989)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Grbic', M., Ode, P. J. & Strand, M. R. Sibling rivalry and brood sex ratios in polyembryonic wasps. Nature 360, 254–256 (1992)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  17. Ode, P. J. & Strand, M. R. Progeny and sex allocation decisions of the polyembryonic wasp Copidosoma floridanum. J. Anim. Ecol. 64, 213–224 (1995)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Grbic', M., Nagy, L., Carroll, S. B. & Strand, M. R. Development and pattern formation in the polyembryonic wasp, Copidosoma floridanum. Development 122, 795–804 (1996)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Ode, P. J. & Hunter, M. S. in Sex ratios: Concepts and Research Methods (ed. Hardy, I. C. W.) 218–234 (Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, 2002)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  20. Giron, D. & Strand, M. R. Host resistance and the evolution of kin recognition in polyembryonic wasps. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. (Suppl.) Biol. Lett. published online 17 June 2004 (DOI:10.1098/rsb1/2004.0205)

  21. Queller, D. C. Relatedness and the fraternal major transitions. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B 355, 1647–1655 (2000)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Crozier, R. H. Genetic clonal recognition abilities in marine invertebrates must be maintained by selection for something else. Evolution 40, 1100–1101 (1986)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Buss, L. W. The Evolution of Individuality (Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton, 1987)

    Google Scholar 

  24. Grosberg, R. K. The evolution of allorecognition specificity in clonal invertebrates. Q. Rev. Biol. 63, 377–412 (1988)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Strassmann, J. E., Zhu, Y. & Queller, D. C. Altruism and social cheating in the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum. Nature 408, 965–967 (2000)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Abbot, P., Withgott, J. H. & Moran, N. A. Genetic conflict and conditional altruism in social aphid colonies. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 98, 12068–12071 (2001)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Strand, M. R. Development of the polyembryonic parasitoid Copidosoma floridanum in Trichoplusia ni. Entomol. Exp. Appl. 50, 37–46 (1989)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was supported in part by the Natural Environment Research Council (UK), the National Science Foundation (US), the University of Georgia Experiment Station, and the Conseil General de la Region (France).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, 30602, USA

    David Giron & Michael R. Strand

  2. School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough, LE12 5RD, UK

    Derek W. Dunn & Ian C. W. Hardy

Authors
  1. David Giron
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Derek W. Dunn
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Ian C. W. Hardy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Michael R. Strand
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael R. Strand.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing financial interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Giron, D., Dunn, D., Hardy, I. et al. Aggression by polyembryonic wasp soldiers correlates with kinship but not resource competition. Nature 430, 676–679 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature02721

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature02721

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing