Formation and maintenance of honeybee reproductive division of labor system
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Key Words： honeybees, division of reproduction, multiple mating, pheromone, worker policing
Abstract： Honeybees are eusocial insects with advanced division of labor. Reproduction is monopolized by the queen; workers are sterile due to the effects of pheromones released by the queen and brood. Polyandry in honeybees decreases intracolonial genetic relatedness but facilitates the evolution of worker policing. Worker policing, together with the effects of queen and brood pheromones on the development of workers’ ovaries，reduces reproductive conflicts within honeybee colonies and maintains the eusociality of honeybees.