Workers are only sterile in the most eusocial of species. In others, being a worker vs. queen is something of a choice, and if circumstances change a worker may start reproducing. There isn’t a sharp transition between cooperative breeding and eusociality.
Even in very eusocial haplodiploid species (so ants and bees, but not termites), unmated workers may reproduce after the death of the queen. They can only produce sons, but it’s still reproduction. .
In others, being a worker vs. queen is something of a choice, and if circumstances change a worker may start reproducing. There isn’t a sharp transition between cooperative breeding and eusociality.
Yep. Once the old naked mole-rat queen dies, the remaining female naked mole-rats have a dominance contest until one girl emerges victorious and becomes the new queen.
Workers are only sterile in the most eusocial of species. In others, being a worker vs. queen is something of a choice, and if circumstances change a worker may start reproducing. There isn’t a sharp transition between cooperative breeding and eusociality.
Even in very eusocial haplodiploid species (so ants and bees, but not termites), unmated workers may reproduce after the death of the queen. They can only produce sons, but it’s still reproduction. .
Yep. Once the old naked mole-rat queen dies, the remaining female naked mole-rats have a dominance contest until one girl emerges victorious and becomes the new queen.