New research article! 📰 Yabe et al. show that CO₂ emissions alone predict colony biomass with striking accuracy, and repeated measurements leave the colony unharmed 💨 🔗 doi.org/10.1007/s000... #SocialInsects #Termites #ColonySize #Biomass #BehavioralEcology

New interview with a social insect scientist! 🎙️ "Who cares?" was the answer Judith Korb got when she first asked why termites bother being eusocial. She's spent her career proving the question mattered 🌍 insectessociaux.wordpress.com/2026/06/29/i... #SocialInsects #Termites #Evolution #Savannah

New research article! 📰 Shinohara et al. reveals that a thieving ant lives almost scot-free inside its host's nest without costing it a thing 🏴‍☠️ 🔗 doi.org/10.1007/s000... #SocialInsects #Cleptobiosis #Symbiosis #Myrmecophily #AntBehavior

New research article! 📰 Haifig et al. show that grass stored inside the nest is chemically altered before ingestion, pointing to a colony-scale digestive system 🌾 🔗 doi.org/10.1007/s000... #SocialInsects #Termites #Microbiome #NutritionalEcology #SavannaEcology

New review article! 📚 Zarate et al. reviewed how male behaviour or its effect on copulation influences colony and population dynamics in Hymenoptera ♂️ 🔗 doi.org/10.1007/s000... #SocialInsects #MaleHymenoptera #SocialInsects #HymenopteraResearch #InsectBehavior

I’ve written a gen pop blog post about my mouse paper for the @insectessociaux.bsky.social blog! 🐭🤓

If you give a mouse to a colony 🐁 @ericamaul.bsky.social reveals what happens when a mouse dies inside a honey bee colony. insectessociaux.wordpress.com/2026/06/16/i... #SocialInsects #HoneyBees #Propolis #BeeResearch #SocialImmunity

"A dead mouse in a honey bee nest is like a dead whale shark in the lobby of an apartment building" So glad the reviewers, and Insect Socio, didn't cut that line! Awesome work, and surprising results, led by Erica Maul @ericamaul.bsky.social

New short communication! 📄 J. Kim et al. report the first South Korean record of N. vespularum and a new host record in Vespula koreensis 🐝 🔗 doi.org/10.1007/s000... #SocialInsects #Strepsiptera #SocialWasps #Parasitism #HostAssociation

It's this sort of content which keeps me coming back to @insectessociaux.bsky.social

My first first-author paper is now published online at Insectes Sociaux! I loved this project and sharing it with y’all at IUSSI-NAS and ABS. Check it out! link.springer.com/article/10.1...

New research article! 📰 @ericamaul.bsky.social and @smithbeelab.bsky.social reveal that honey bees process dead mice inside their nests, rather than simply sealing them in propolis. 🐁 🔗 doi.org/10.1007/s000... #SocialInsects #HoneyBees #SocialImmunity #Necrophagy #CollectiveBehavior

New research article! 📰 Grella et al. present a practical workflow that makes West African savannah termites easier to identify and compare across studies 🌍 🔗 doi.org/10.1007/s000... #SocialInsects #Termites #Biodiversity #SpeciesIdentification #Taxonomy

Excited to share this blog and our recent paper! We modelled termite colonies, which seem to produce altruistic soldiers that help non-kin in fused groups. We show that colonies might benefit from this soldier production under certain conditions if we think of it as a collective investment game ♟️🪳

Colony fusion - an inclusive fitness conundrum 🪵 In this blog, beckypadget.bsky.social explores why do some colonies merge with unrelated neighbours despite what evolutionary theory predicts. insectessociaux.wordpress.com/2026/06/03/c... #SocialInsects #Evolution #AnimalBehavior #Ecology

Excited to have our new paper published in Insectes Sociaux! Lasius niger ants discovering a pre-existing trail do not modify their trail-following behaviour with distance from the nest or motivation. The straightness of their trajectories was affected by how far they had walked before though! 🐜

New research article! 📰 Poissonnier (curiousant.bsky.social), tomerczaczkes.bsky.social et al. show that workers follow pheromone trails with fidelity, regardless of their foraging context 🐜 🔗 doi.org/10.1007/s000... #SocialInsects #AntForaging #ChemicalCommunication #AntBehavior #Pheromones

New research article! 📰 @beckypadget.bsky.social et al. model how termite colonies may shift soldier investment after fusion 📈 🔗 doi.org/10.1007/s000... #SocialInsects #Termites #ColonyFusion #SoldierCaste #TheoreticalEcology

The weight of a meal: how the giant queenless ants make tough decisions ⚖️ In this blog, find out why these giant ants sometimes dismember their prey when it gets too heavy to carry. insectessociaux.wordpress.com/2026/05/25/t... #SocialInsects #AntBehavior #Entomology #BehavioralEcology #Science

New research article! 📰 J.-N. Xu et al. reveal how a juvenile hormone-responsive gene shapes ovarian development and queen-worker divergence in Apis mellifera 🐝 🔗 doi.org/10.1007/s000... #SocialInsects #HoneyBee #CasteDifferentiation #JuvenileHormone #Transcriptomics

New research article! 📰 Hoffmann et al. show that M. andersoni raids Iridomyrmex nests effectively during high heat, combining speed and chemical mimicry to steal brood 🐜 🔗 doi.org/10.1007/s000... #SocialInsects #AntBehaviour #BroodRaiding #ChemicalMimicry #ThermophilicAnts

Between vineyards and desert: one termite, two species? 🏜️ A fieldwork story about South Africa’s southern harvester termite. @damsgergonne.bsky.social insectessociaux.wordpress.com/2026/05/19/b... #SocialInsects #Termites #Africa #Evolution

New research article! 📰 Azevedo et al. show that D. quadriceps workers prefer lighter prey and ignore volume changes when weight stays constant 🐜 🔗 doi.org/10.1007/s000... #SocialInsects #Foraging #AntBehaviour #PreySelection #IndividualForaging

Thanks to my co-authors Carmen Gil-Hoed and @temnothorax.bsky.social on this endeavor, and thanks to @insectessociaux.bsky.social for the recognition, check the highlight on Yellow crazy ants doing crazy cooperative transport! 🐜🎉 #cienciacriolla 🇨🇴 #ants

Highlight Article 💫 Who cares? Effect of foster parents on caste determination in a termite 🔬 link.springer.com/article/10.1... #SocialInsects #Termites #CasteDetermination #DevelopmentalPlasticity #InsectBehavior

Best paper announcement for 2025 🏆 The winner of Insectes Sociaux’s 2025 Best Paper Award is : “Well-coordinated cooperative transport in the invasive ant Anoplolepsis gracilipes” (Gil-Hoed et al. 2025). Luisa writes the following about their paper: doi.org/10.1007/s000...

Size matters: how different sized workers navigate the unknown 🐜 In this blog, Hyein explores how differently sized ant workers respond to unfamiliar environments ✍️ insectessociaux.wordpress.com/2026/05/11/s... #SocialInsects #AntBiology #BehaviouralEcology #Ants #SizeMatters

Check out my interview with Insectes Sociaux! This gave me a chance to reflect on my journey, my fascination with ants and the things that keep me going! ICYMI, link to my recent paper: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

New interview with a social insect scientist! 🎙️ Chinmay (chjoshi.bsky.social) has spent years figuring out how ant colonies keep it together when everything goes wrong.... 🐜 insectessociaux.wordpress.com/2026/05/06/i... #SocialInsects #Ants #BehavioralEcology #FieldWork #ScienceLife

New research article! 📰 Lachaud and Pérez-Lachaud reports new ant–treehopper associations in Mexico, expanding what is known about trophobiotic partnerships 🐜 🔗 doi.org/10.1007/s000... #SocialInsects #Mutualism #Treehoppers #Honeydew #Ectatomma

New short communication! 📄 Harano shows that honeybee recruits leave the hive with more concentrated fuel than dancers, not just larger loads 🐝 🔗 doi.org/10.1007/s000... #SocialInsects #Honeybees #Foraging #Nectar #Recruitment

New short communication! 📄 T. Smith documents a slow, cooperative colony split, with parent bees supporting the new nest for months 🐝 🔗 doi.org/10.1007/s000... #SocialInsects #StinglessBees #NestEstablishment #Eusociality #Pollination

New interview with a social insect scientist! 🎙 Thomas Parmentier (tparmentier.bsky.social) has found interesting interactions hiding right beneath our feet... 🐜 insectessociaux.wordpress.com/2026/04/27/i... #SocialInsects #Myrmecophiles #AntEcology #ChemicalEcology #Interview

New research article! 📰 Jo et al. shows that foragers' body size strongly influences aggregation in novel environments while exploration and inactivity remain largely size-independent 🐜 🔗 doi.org/10.1007/s000... #SocialInsects #Camponotus #AntForaging #Polymorphism #NoveltyResponse

Anastasi et al. show that citizen photos can reveal clear seasonal patterns and unexpected winter worker activity in invasive wasps 🐝 🔗 doi.org/10.1007/s000... #SocialInsects #Wasps #CitizenScience #Phenology #InvasiveSpecies

From leaf to ant nest and back again: the life and escape strategy of a parasitoid wasp In this blog, Yu outlines a parasitoid wasp's life cycle, its interactions with ants, and the questions raised. ✍️ insectessociaux.wordpress.com/2026/04/21/f... #SocialInsects #AntBiology #Ecology #Ants

New research article! 📰 Chiyoda et al. show that Camponotus yamaokai mates across much of the active season, with spring and autumn peaks 🐜 🔗 doi.org/10.1007/s000... #SocialInsects #Camponotus #IntranidalMating #ReproductiveSeasonality #AntBehaviour

New research article! 📰 Pramatarova et al. reveals that ant–psyllid trophobiosis is far more widespread and underreported than previously thought 🍯 🔗 doi.org/10.1007/s000... #SocialInsects #AntTrophobiosis #Psyllids #HoneydewMutualism #InsectInteractions

New research article! 📰 Lima Vieira et al. show that prior success makes Pachycondyla striata workers more active, exploratory, and effective foragers 🐜 🔗 doi.org/10.1007/s000... #SocialInsects #Foraging #Experience #Ponerinae #BehaviouralEcology

The Queen’s Gambit: how polyandry gives trap-jaw ant queens a competitive edge In this blog, Henrique et al. from ecomol.bsky.social explains how they characterize the queen'scontribution to offspring in ants👑 insectessociaux.wordpress.com/2026/04/15/t... #socialinsects #entomology #competition

New research article! 📰 González-Lleida (pgonzalezlleida.bsky.social), danisaureu.bsky.social & ricaliari.bsky.social, demonstrates how seasonal shifts and opponent identity drive aggression levels 🐜 🔗 doi.org/10.1007/s000... #SocialInsects #Ant #BehaviouralPlasticity #Supercoloniality #Ecology

Paper alert 🚨🐜! Fire ant foraging looks remarkably robust until you perturb their communication. @dornhaus.bsky.social and I tested how fire ants respond to disruptions in pheromone trail communication during foraging. More in the thread below 🧵(1/6). link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Check out my latest paper! I have written a 🧵on this paper: bsky.app/profile/chjo...

New research article! 📰 Joshi (chjoshi.bsky.social) and Dornhaus (dornhaus.bsky.social) show that fire ants keep pursuing rich food even when their trail is interrupted 🐜 🔗 doi.org/10.1007/s000... #SocialInsects #FireAnts #PheromoneTrails #ForagingBehaviour #Robustness

Fire bees and treehoppers: a newly discovered partnership 🌿 In this blog, Bruno Gomes describes the first recorded mutualistic interaction between a fire bee and a treehopper. insectessociaux.wordpress.com/2026/04/11/f... #SocialInsects #Entomology #Mutualism #Biodiversity #InsectEcology

New research article! 📰 Parmentier et al. show that a supposedly worker-specific fungus can also spread across Myrmica sexuals, larvae, and nest associates 🧫 🔗 doi.org/10.1007/s000... #SocialInsects #FungalParasite #Myrmica #Myrmecophiles #HostRange

New research article! 📰 Miller, Cook (phdbee.bsky.social) et al. shows dopamine boosts tolerance between bee mothers and daughters 🐝 🔗 doi.org/10.1007/s000... #SocialInsects #BiogenicAmines #CarpenterBees #SocialHierarchy #InsectNeurobiology

New short communication! 📰 Florindo et al. (ecomol.bsky.social) shows multiple mating boosts queen productivity in savanna trap-jaw ants 🐜 🔗 doi.org/10.1007/s000... #SocialInsects #Polyandry #ReproductiveSharing #ColonyStructure #QueenFitness

Research article! 📰 Wesener revisits a long-forgotten termite-associated millipede family and describes a new species from Malaysia 🪱 🔗 doi.org/10.1007/s000... #SocialInsects #Termites #Millipedes #Biodiversity #Taxonomy

New research article! 📰 Kosaka reveals the ecology of a nematode that sterilizes queen of 5 hornet species 🪱 🔗 doi.org/10.1007/s000... #SocialInsects #Nematode #HornetParasites #BiologicalControl #InsectEcology