Social behaviour - social insects

Question 1

Social insects -

Answer 1

Includes bees, was, ants and termites that exist within large organised family groups

Question 2

A truly social insect will have

Answer 2

Cooperative care young
Parents and their offspring living together
The development of a caste system

Question 3

Reproduction and survival of the colony depend on

Answer 3

All members working together and undertaking division of labour

Question 4

Division of labour - reproduction

Answer 4

Only a few fertile individuals- (queens and drones) contribute reproductively to the group, many young are produced by these individuals

Question 5

Division of labour - food gathering, rearing young and defence

Answer 5

These rolls are carried out by sterile members of the colony.
These workers cooperate with close relatives to raise relatives, by helping raise relatives, sterile workers increase survival of shared genes

Question 6

Three castes of honey bee in the hives

Answer 6

Queen - 1 in a colony produces all the eggs
Workers - thousands of females build the nest, collect food and rear young
Drones - few hundred males that fertilise the queen eggs

Question 7

4 castes within an ant colony

Answer 7

Queen - 1 in a colony produces all the eggs
Workers - many sterile females build the nest, collect food and rear young
Soldiers- many sterile females defend the colony
Drones - many males that mate with the queen

Question 8

Benefits of insect social behaviour

Answer 8

Most efficient way to ensure genes are passed in is to cooperate with close relatives to maintain and defend the hive and raise relatives
Social insects display kin selection - they act altruistically towards other members of the colony to ensure survival of shared genes to the next generation