What Makes a Good Helper? The Molecular Evolution of Cooperative Insect Societies

Eusociality is a social behaviour that describes the complex interactions among individuals in social societies. In insects, this behaviour has independently evolved multiple times and several hypotheses postulating its molecular evolution have been proposed. However, it is relatively unknown whether the patterns of molecular evolution are shared among or independent to insect lineages. Here, we compare Polistes (paper wasps), Bombus (bumble bees) and Apis (honey bees) in attempt to answer this question.