Stefano Turillazzi

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: The evolution of eusociality, including a review of the social status of Ropalidia marignata, and behavioural screening and the evolution of polygyny in paper wasps.

TL;DR: Microsatellite markers are used to reveal an unexpected and unique social system in what is probably the best-studied social wasp, Polistes dominulus, which is functionally unlike other social insects, but similar to certain vertebrate societies, in which the unrelated helpers gain through inheritance of a territory or a mate.

TL;DR: It is demonstrated that queens of social wasps overwintering as adults (Vespa crabro and Polistes spp.) can harbor yeast cells from autumn to spring and transmit them to their progeny and indicate that wasps are a key environmental niche for the evolution of natural S. cerevisiae populations, the dispersion of yeast cells in the environment, and the maintenance of their diversity.

TL;DR: This is the first systematic evaluation of the role of hydrocarbon classes as recognition cues and begins to define the recognition signature within the cuticular profile for a genus regarded as a model organism for the study of recognition in animals.