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social insect
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caste: honeybee queen and worker bees
caste: honeybee queen and worker bees The honeybee queen (centre foreground) with worker bees in a hive.

social insect

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How do social wasps and bees communicate danger?
How do social wasps and bees communicate danger?An overview of how social wasps and bees use pheromones to communicate danger.
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social insect, any of numerous species of insects that live in colonies and manifest three characteristics: group integration, division of labour, and overlap of generations. Social insects are best exemplified by all termites (Isoptera; sometimes Blattodea) and ants (Formicidae) and by various bees and wasps (Hymenoptera).

Social insects are differentiated in structure, function, and behaviour into castes, the major ones being the reproductives (e.g., the queen) and the steriles (workers and soldiers). Besides carrying out the basic function of reproduction, the members of the reproductive caste generally select the site for a new colony and excavate the first galleries. The workers care for the eggs and larvae, collect food for other members of the colony, and construct and repair the nest, while the soldiers defend the colony against predators.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Robert Lewis.