BEING male doesn鈥檛 count for much among social insects, unless you happen to
be a wasp called Mischocyttarus mastigophorus from Central America.
The males of this species spend much of their time chasing and even biting
females, Sean O鈥橠onnell of the University of Washington in Seattle reports in a
forthcoming issue of Ethology. He says this is the first known instance
of male dominance within an insect society.
In temperate zones, males are only needed for mating and they die soon
afterwards. M. mastigophorus colonies, on the other hand, thrive all
year round and males live longer.
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O鈥橠onnell speculates that this allows males to make multiple mating flights,
and thus earn a higher place in the social hierarchy.
