The social amoeba, Dictyostelium discoideum , produces a multicellular fruiting body and has become a model system for cell–cell interactions such as signalling, adhesion and development. However, unlike most multicellular organisms, it forms by aggregation of cells and, in the laboratory, forms genetic chimeras where there may be competition among clones. Here we show that chimera formation is also likely in nature, because d...

We developed 52 microsatellite loci for the wasp, Polybioides tabidus , for the purpose of studying the evolution and inclusive fitness consequences of swarm‐founding. The large number of loci is important for three reasons that may apply to many other systems. Heterozygosity was low in our target species, yet we found enough polymorphic loci for accurate kinship studies in this species. Many monomorphic loci were polymorphic...

Kin selection theory has received some of its strongest support from analyses of within‐colony conflicts between workers and queens in social insects. One of these conflicts involves the timing of queen production. In neotropical wasps, new queens are only produced by colonies with just one queen while males are produced by colonies with more queens, a pattern favoured by worker interests. We now show that new colonies, or swa...