The researchers collected nests from various habitats. Surprisingly they found that over half contained multiple females and those containing multiple females were more likely to have bee larvae in them. “The results mean that H. nigrinervis is social and that there are consequently no known losses of sociality in this group of bees.” As these bees lack the social and behavioural complexity of honeybees and many other social insects, the fact that they do not seem to live solitarily in any circumstances suggests that ecological pressures rather than biological factors maintain sociality.

The researchers hypothesise that sociality in H. nigrinervis is maintained by predation: multiple females not only offer greater protection to the brood in the nest but also should an adult fall foul of predators, nest-mates will raise their young. While many social insects might retain the potential to raise young alone, the benefits of protection against predation result in sociality being maintained.

Notes to Editors

1 Social complexity in bees is not sufficient to explain lack of reversions to solitary living over long time scales.
Luke B Chenoweth, Simon M Tierney, Jaclyn A Smith, Steven JB Cooper and Michael P Schwarz
BMC Evolutionary Biology (in press)

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