Common endocrine and genetic mechanisms of behavioral development in male and worker honey bees and the evolution of division of labor

摘要

Temporal polyethism is a highly derived form of behavioral development displayed by social insects. Hormonal and genetic mechanisms regulating temporal poly- ethism in worker honey bees have been identified, but the evolution of these mechanisms is not well understood. We performed three experiments with male honey bees (drones) to investigate how mechanisms regulating temporal poly- ethism may have evolved because, relative to workers, drones display an intriguing combination of similarities and differ- ences in behavioral development.