Personality in social insects: How does worker personality determine colony personality?

Abstract

Social insect colonies and the workers comprising them, each exhibit consistent individual differences in behavior, also known as 'personalities'. Because the behavior of social insect colonies emerges from the actions of their workers, individual variation among workers' personality may be important in determining the variation we observe among colonies. The reproductive unit of social insects, on which natural selection acts, is the colony, not individual workers. Therefore, it is important to understand what mechanisms govern the observed variation among colonies. Here I propose three hypotheses that address how consistent individual differences in the behavior of workers may lead to consistent individual differences in the behavior of colonies: 1. Colonies differ consistently in their average of worker personality; 2. The distribution but not the average of worker personalities varies consistently among colonies; and 3. Colony personality does not emerge from its worker personality composition but from consistent external constraints. I review evidence supporting each of these hypotheses and suggest methods to further investigate them. The study of how colony personality emerges from the personalities of the workers comprising them may shed light on the mechanisms underlying consistent individual differences in the behavior of other animals. © 2012 Current Zoology.