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Updated: Aug 5, 2026
07:54
Manipulation of Ploidy in Caenorhabditis elegans
Published on: March 15, 2018
Haplodiploidy alone does not predict the evolution of eusociality
Sachin Suresh1, Timothy A Linksvayer1
1School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA.
Current Biology : CB
|August 3, 2026
Summary
Haplodiploidy does not generally promote the evolution of eusociality. While relatedness is higher in haplodiploids, this pattern is specific to certain insect lineages like Hymenoptera.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary Biology
- Behavioral Ecology
- Genetics
Background:
- Inclusive fitness theory suggests haplodiploidy may favor eusociality due to increased sister-sister relatedness.
- Theoretical models have explored this link for decades, but empirical testing is recent.
- Hamilton's haplodiploid hypothesis posits higher relatedness between sisters in haplodiploids, potentially favoring altruism.
Purpose of the Study:
- To empirically test the hypothesis that eusociality evolves more readily in haplodiploid organisms.
- To investigate the relationship between haplodiploidy and the evolution of sociality across insect species.
- To determine if the proposed link between haplodiploidy and eusociality is a general phenomenon or clade-specific.
Main Methods:
- Utilized two large, species-level insect phylogenies incorporating sociality and ploidy data.
- Analyzed estimated transition rates to eusociality across different insect lineages.
- Compared evolutionary rates between haplodiploid and diploid clades.
Main Results:
- Estimated transition rates to eusociality were found to be higher in haplodiploids.
- This pattern was predominantly driven by a high transition rate within the aculeate Hymenoptera lineage.
- No general effect of haplodiploidy on the evolution of eusociality was observed across all tested insects.
Conclusions:
- The apparent link between haplodiploidy and eusociality is not a universal rule.
- Clade-specific evolutionary dynamics, particularly within Hymenoptera, explain the observed correlation.
- Haplodiploidy itself may not be a sufficient condition for the widespread evolution of eusociality.
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