Diane C. Wiernasz

TL;DR: It is argued that inclusive fitness theory has been of little value in explained the natural world, and that it has led to negligible progress in explaining the evolution of eusociality, but these arguments are based upon a misunderstanding of evolutionary theory and a misrepresentation of the empirical literature.

TL;DR: In a polyandrous harvester ant, Pogonomyrmex occidentalis, average within-colony relatedness in the population is low but highly variable among colonies, and relatedness is negatively correlated with colony growth rate.

TL;DR: The western harvester ant Pogonomyrmex occidentalis is frequently the dominant insect species in the deserts and arid grasslands of western North America, and the lek mating system of this species provides an opportunity to relate local reproduction to dispersal.

TL;DR: Using four highly polymorphic microsatellite markers (12–28 alleles), gentoyped workers from 63 colonies of Pogonomyrmex occidentalis indicate a substantial fitness benefit to multiple mating.

TL;DR: Large queens are significantly more likely to survive than small queens through the initial stages of colony founding and sexual allocation ratios should incorporate the individual fitness functions in species in which individual queens vary in fitness.