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Behaviour

Social Behaviour: Insect Caste Systems and Vertebrate Dominance Hierarchies

  • 3 things to know
  • A2 Unit 4

Overview

Recall questions on Insect Caste Systems and Vertebrate Dominance Hierarchies.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Key term

Define a pheromone.

Key term

Why is communication within an insect colony described as innate?

Evaluation

What is the main advantage of a caste system to the colony?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What determines whether a female bee larva develops into a queen or a worker?

    Model answer

    The diet it is fed determines this, since a larva fed royal jelly throughout its development becomes a queen while one fed royal jelly only briefly and then pollen and nectar becomes a worker.

  2. 2

    Define a pheromone.

    Model answer

    A pheromone is a chemical released by one individual that alters the behaviour or physiology of another individual of the same species.

  3. 3

    Describe the role of queen substance in a honeybee colony.

    Model answer

    Queen substance is a pheromone produced by the queen and passed through the colony by the workers, and it prevents the workers' ovaries from developing and stops them rearing new queens, so when its concentration falls new queens are raised.

  4. 4

    How does a returning honeybee forager indicate the position of a food source?

    Model answer

    It performs a figure of eight dance on the vertical comb in which the angle of the straight waggling run away from the vertical equals the angle of the food source from the direction of the sun, while the duration of the waggling run indicates how far away it is.

  5. 5

    Why is communication within an insect colony described as innate?

    Model answer

    The signals are genetically determined and every worker performs and responds to them correctly without having to learn them.

  6. 6

    What is the main advantage of a caste system to the colony?

    Model answer

    Division of labour means each caste is specialised and therefore efficient at its task, so the colony as a whole functions as a single successful reproductive unit.

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