The role of microparasites in the evolution of insect sociality

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We examined the red-queen paradigm in social insects using ants.(1)Founding queens of Lasius japonidus showed a higher mortality when they are posed to found a nest in materials of established nests than those in two controls.Fungal pathogens seems the major case of the mortality, and at least five insect paihogenic fungi were isolated from the cadavers.(2)Workers of L. japonicus also showed a similar(but sometimes in the opposite)differential mortality, when they are exposed to soils from natal and alien nests.Genotype x genotype interaction, specific memorized immunity and stress to alien odor seemed possible factors for this.(3)Mortality of workers did not correlate to colony size in the laboratory.(4)Various fungal pathogens have been found in various new insects hosts.