Insectes Sociaux

Insectes Sociaux becomes PCI-friendly: what does this mean? The scientific journal Insectes Sociaux has become “PCI-friendly” in partnership with Peer Community In ( — an opportunity to speed up and increase the transparency of peer review, without automati…

An interview for the journal Insectes Sociaux (@insectessociaux.bsky.social), which's now PCI friendly (@peercommunityin.bsky.social) ! Happy to promote open science wherever it is possible.

insectessociaux.com/2026/03/10/i...

Insectes Sociaux becomes PCI-friendly: what does this mean? The scientific journal Insectes Sociaux has become “PCI-friendly” in partnership with Peer Community In ( — an opportunity to speed up and increase the transparency of peer review, without automati…

New interview! 🎙️

@jmeunierearwig.bsky.social explains the recent partnership between Insectes Sociaux and Peer Community In, which promotes transparency and supports open science. ✍️

insectessociaux.com/2026/03/10/i...

#SocialInsects #OpenScience #PeerReview #Preprints #InsectScience

New research article! 📰

@filipegudin.bsky.social et al. show that flies in wasp nests are better interpreted as carrion‑feeding scavengers on dead brood than as true parasitoids of living larvae 🪰
🔗 doi.org/10.1007/s000...

#SocialInsects #TrophicWebs #NestEcology #Interactions #ForensicEntomology

New research article! 📰

Tschinkel reveals that the tiny ant P. adrianoi lines its multi‑chambered nests with sclerotia from pine ectomycorrhizal fungi, whose sprouting mycelium binds the surrounding sand 🍄
🔗 doi.org/10.1007/s000...

#SocialInsects #SoilEngineering #DesertAdaptations #Behaviour

New research article! 📰

Hisasue & Kitazawa present a complete life‑history description of this parasitoid wasp, from egg laying on leaves to larval development inside ant larvae over winter. 🐜
🔗 doi.org/10.1007/s000...

#HiddenBiodiversity #SocialParasites #AntWaspInteractions #EvolutionaryEcology

The effect of transporting hitchhikers on the stability of loaded leaf-cutting ants - Insectes Sociaux Since leaf-cutting ants’ food sources are often far from their nests, efficient leaf transport is key to improving the colony’s food intake. We examined whether the presence of hitchhikers on the carr...

doi.org/10.1007/s000...

When are hitchhikers useful and when are they a hinderance? - Insectes Sociaux Insectes Sociaux -

Highlight Article 💫

When are hitchhikers useful and when are they a hinderance? 🍃

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

#SocialInsects #LeafCuttingAnts #Entomology #AnimalBehaviour #FungusFarming

The surprising vulnerability of a termite’s secret roomate By Igor Eloi Igor is a PhD student based at the UFRN campus on the brazilian coast. He is fascinated by how social insects, like termites, behave and interact with other species. In this blog, he s…

The surprising vulnerability of a termite’s secret roomate 🪲

In this blog, Igor explores the lives of termite-associated beetles and reveals how forest edges can affect insect societies.

🔗 insectessociaux.com/2026/01/28/t...

#SocialInsects #Biodiversity #InsectEcology #Symbiosis #Entomology

Aleocharinae termitophiles are affected by habitat fragmentation in deciduous dry forests - Insectes Sociaux Landscape modifications, such as habitat fragmentation, significantly impact wildlife, particularly through edge effects (EE) that alter environmental conditions. Social insects like termites are susc...

New research article! 📰

Siqueira-Rocha et al. show, among other things, that termite-loving beetles living in Constrictotermes cyphergaster termite nests are less abundant near forest edges. 🌳
🔗 doi.org/10.1007/s000...

#SocialInsects #Crypticdiversity #TropicalForest #Symbiose #LandscapeEcology

Genetic diversity of Estonian honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) revealed by mitochondrial DNA analysis - Insectes Sociaux The honey bee Apis mellifera Linnaeus, 1758 has a worldwide distribution with more than 30 subspecies recognized by morphological and genetic methods. Estonia is within the distribution area of the Eu...

New short communication! 📄

Raime & Pereira sequenced the mitochondrial COI–COII region of 156 honey bees and show that Estonia’s honey bee population is now dominated by commercial subspecies 🐝
🔗 doi.org/10.1007/s000...

#SocialInsects #ApisMellifera #GeneticDiversity #BeeConservation

New short communication article! 📄

Teixeira et al. mined Illumina genomes to show that A. octospinosus and its parasite share nine satellite DNA families with lineage-specific amplification–degeneration patterns 📊
🔗 doi.org/10.1007/s000...

#SocialInsects #Acromyrmex #Genomics #SocialParasitism

The learning efficiency of the ant Anoplolepis gracilipes (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) varies with temperature - Insectes Sociaux Insectes Sociaux - The yellow crazy ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes Smith, 1857) is a highly invasive species that poses serious threats to tropical and subtropical ecosystems. Its distribution is...

New short communication! 📄

Chan et al. used a Y-maze olfactory conditioning assay to show that yellow crazy ants learn odor–reward associations much more efficiently at warmer temperatures 🔥
🔗 doi.org/10.1007/s000...

#SoicalInsects #InvasiveAnt #AssociativeLearning #Behavior

First record of Stylotermitidae (Insecta: Blattodea) from Pakistan: distribution, habitat preference, and molecular characterization - Insectes Sociaux Stylotermitidae, a cryptic family of wood-dwelling termites (Blattodea), contributes significantly to deadwood decomposition in tropical and subtropical forests. Despite their ecological importance, t...

New short communication! 📄

Rahman et al. combining field surveys, morphology, and barcoding to document the first record of the termite family Stylotermitidae in Pakistan 🌳
​🔗 doi.org/10.1007/s000...

#SocialInsects #Termites #Stylotermitidae #DNAbarcoding #ForestBiodiversity #Biogeography

New research article! 📰

Kitade et al. experimentally mixed offspring from R. speratus colonies and showed that simple colony fusion accelerates early colony growth in termites 🌱
🔗 doi.org/10.1007/s000...

#SocialInsects #Termites #Fusion #GeneticDiversity #Colony #Reticulitermes #Eusociality

Hovering battles at the ant nest: the remarkable behavior of a rare ant parasitoid wasp By Satsuki Kajiwara Satsuki is a PhD student in the Entomology Laboratory at Kyushu University, Japan, where she studies ant-associated parasitoid wasps. In this blog post, she shares her discovery…

Hovering battles at the ant nest: the remarkable behavior of a rare ant parasitoid wasp ⚔️

In this blog, Satsuki shares her discovery of fights between female wasps competing for access to ant larvae.

insectessociaux.com/2025/12/27/h...

#InsectesSociaux #Entomology #ParasitoidWasps #AnimalBehavior

New research article! 📰

Kajiwara and Yamauchi observed O. cremieri wasps hovering near Lasius capitatus ant nests, documenting female pushing competition over ant larvae 🐜
🔗 doi.org/10.1007/s000...

#SocialInsects #EvolutionaryInteractions #Competition #Hybrizontinae #LasiusCapitatus #Parasitoid​

Understanding insect evolution often means looking back in time.🕰️🧬🪲

At #ECE2026Tours, we’ll explore systematics in the biodiversity crisis, paleo & archeoentomology, and museomics, with keynotes incl. @davidperis.bsky.social, David Díez-del-Molino and Emily Anne Hartop

➡️https://www.ece2026.org/

Got some nice work about ant foraging? Can't decide where to send it? We have a special issue just for you!

And, as a bonus, it's in (afaiac*) the best journal in the world @insectessociaux.bsky.social

link.springer.com/collections/...

*As Far As I Am Concerned

insectessociaux Commentaries, thoughts and opinions about social insects

New interview with a social insect scientist! 🎙

Stefano Stefano has discovered a hidden layer of complexity in a familiar world... 🐜

insectessociaux.com/2025/11/14/i...

#SocialInsects #Interview #AnimalBehavior #SocialInsects #BehavioralEcology #Plasticity #AntResearch #InsectScience

The gut microbiome differs between hygiene-performing and non-hygiene-performing worker honey bees - Insectes Sociaux Gut microbiomes play a significant role in the health, development, and behavior of numerous species, including honey bees (Apis mellifera). Worker honey bees exhibit varying degrees of hygienic behav...

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

The sweet link between bee guts and hygiene - Insectes Sociaux Insectes Sociaux -

Highlight Article 💫

The sweet link between bee guts and hygiene 🧫

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

#SocialInsects #HoneyBees #Microbiome #BeeHealth #HygienicBehavior #PollinatorResearch

Digging on fast-forward: How heat shapes ant architecture In this blog post, the authors of the Insectes Sociaux article title “High environmental temperatures put nest excavation by ants on fast forward: they dig the same nests, faster” (Rath…

Digging on fast-forward: How heat shapes ant architecture 🏗

In this blog post, the authors talk about their research on the effects of environmental temperature on ant digging activity.

insectessociaux.com/2025/11/03/d...

#SocialInsects #Ants #Temperature #Climate #Warming #Nestbuilding #Ecology

New review article! 📚

Huisken & Rehan review how social network theory and gene networks can be integrated, proposing to link molecular mechanisms with social interactions🧬
🔗 doi.org/10.1007/s000...

#SocialInsects #Sociogenomics #BehavioralGenetics #Superorganism #EvolutionaryBiology #Cooperation

New research article! 📰

Cavallo & @patdettorre.bsky.social examined behavioral traits, showing consistency over time, with no correlation between exploration and aggression 🐜
🔗 doi.org/10.1007/s000...

#SocialInsects #AntBehavior #ExploratoryActivity #Aggression #Colony #Personality #EvoEco #Ants

New research article! 📰

Schumacher et al. studied ant communities using bait experiments, finding that forest layer affects ant activity and competition more than time 🌳
🔗 doi.org/10.1007/s000...

#SocialInsects #AntEcology #InvasiveSpecies #CommunityStructure #Competition #Formicidae #Ants

New research article! 📰

Utaipanon et al. analyzed genetic diversity in an Australian honey bee breeding program, revealing that genetic structure is shaped by geographical and mating factors🐝
🔗 doi.org/10.1007/s000...

#SocialInsects #HoneyBeeGenetics #Pollination #ApisMellifera #PopulationGenetics

🚨 Still 10 days left to submit an abstract for our IUSSI winter meeting in beautiful Leuven, 18-19 December;

🚨 Registration is now open: www.iussi-nweurope.org/meetings

New research article! 📰

Porras-Brenes and Amador-Vargas investigated how carrying oversized loads affects leafcutter ants’ antennae-ground tapping 🎒
🔗 doi.org/10.1007/s000...

#LeafcutterAnts #ForagingBehavior #SensoryEcology #LoadCarrying #AnimalBehavior #Atta #Antennae #ForagingTrail

Pesticides damage bee parenting — and their larvae pay the price By Leeah Richardson Leeah is a graduate student at the University of Texas at Austin with a particular interest in insect behavior and anthropogenic stressors. In this blog, she explains how, altho…

Pesticides damage bee parenting — and their larvae pay the price 🐝

In this blog, Leeah explains how, although not highly lethal to adults, some pesticides can harm bumblebees in indirect ways.

insectessociaux.com/2025/10/02/p...

#SocialInsects #Pollinators #Pesticides #BeeConservation #Bees

📌North-West European IUSSI Winter Meeting 2025

We are happy to announce that our next meeting on the 18–19 December 2025 will be in Leuven, Belgium, hosted by @twenseleers.bsky.social and his team.

Plenary speakers: Ido Pen & Rahia Mashoodh @rmash.bsky.social

More details to follow 🐝🐜🪳🪲