Tom Wenseleers
@twenseleers.bsky.social
Professor @KULeuven - evolutionary biology, theoretical biology & biostatistics (#Rstats). Social insects & microorganisms. Social evolution, self organisation, chemical ecology, statistical machine learning. https://bio.kuleuven.be/eeb/tw/research
Or 👇https://www.researchgate.net/publication/397900195_Conflict_over_caste_fate_in_insect_societies Thanks to coauthors @HelenaMFerreir2 @dipietroviviana @cintiaoi.bsky.social @deniseaalves23 Judith Korb and Francis L.W. Ratnieks! This paper took 20 years to finish, but glad it finally materialised!
November 24, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Or 👇https://www.researchgate.net/publication/397900195_Conflict_over_caste_fate_in_insect_societies Thanks to coauthors @HelenaMFerreir2 @dipietroviviana @cintiaoi.bsky.social @deniseaalves23 Judith Korb and Francis L.W. Ratnieks! This paper took 20 years to finish, but glad it finally materialised!
We also review:
🐜 "Miniature queens" in ants & bees that sneak past worker policing.
🪵 Succession wars in lower termites when the royal pair dies.
🧬 The "parliament of the genes" resolving intragenomic conflicts over caste determination.
🐜 "Miniature queens" in ants & bees that sneak past worker policing.
🪵 Succession wars in lower termites when the royal pair dies.
🧬 The "parliament of the genes" resolving intragenomic conflicts over caste determination.
November 24, 2025 at 1:08 PM
We also review:
🐜 "Miniature queens" in ants & bees that sneak past worker policing.
🪵 Succession wars in lower termites when the royal pair dies.
🧬 The "parliament of the genes" resolving intragenomic conflicts over caste determination.
🐜 "Miniature queens" in ants & bees that sneak past worker policing.
🪵 Succession wars in lower termites when the royal pair dies.
🧬 The "parliament of the genes" resolving intragenomic conflicts over caste determination.
In Melipona, up to ~20% of females selfishly develop as queens—far more than needed!
The colony’s solution? Mass execution: workers slaughter the excess queens upon emergence. It is a true tragedy of the commons indeed: individual selfishness resulting in a cost to all! 💀🐝
The colony’s solution? Mass execution: workers slaughter the excess queens upon emergence. It is a true tragedy of the commons indeed: individual selfishness resulting in a cost to all! 💀🐝
November 24, 2025 at 1:08 PM
In Melipona, up to ~20% of females selfishly develop as queens—far more than needed!
The colony’s solution? Mass execution: workers slaughter the excess queens upon emergence. It is a true tragedy of the commons indeed: individual selfishness resulting in a cost to all! 💀🐝
The colony’s solution? Mass execution: workers slaughter the excess queens upon emergence. It is a true tragedy of the commons indeed: individual selfishness resulting in a cost to all! 💀🐝
The answer depends on who is in control.
In honeybees, workers control who gets more and better food (royal jelly). Hence, they decide who becomes queen. But in Melipona stingless bees, larvae feed themselves in identical, sealed cells. The result? A battle over who gets to become the new queen!
In honeybees, workers control who gets more and better food (royal jelly). Hence, they decide who becomes queen. But in Melipona stingless bees, larvae feed themselves in identical, sealed cells. The result? A battle over who gets to become the new queen!
November 24, 2025 at 1:08 PM
The answer depends on who is in control.
In honeybees, workers control who gets more and better food (royal jelly). Hence, they decide who becomes queen. But in Melipona stingless bees, larvae feed themselves in identical, sealed cells. The result? A battle over who gets to become the new queen!
In honeybees, workers control who gets more and better food (royal jelly). Hence, they decide who becomes queen. But in Melipona stingless bees, larvae feed themselves in identical, sealed cells. The result? A battle over who gets to become the new queen!
Becoming a worker is altruistic, but becoming a queen or king offers direct fitness benefits. 👑
Theory predicts that individual larvae should often selfishly bias their development to become reproductives, even if it hurts the colony. A classic example of a tragedy of the commons. But do they?
Theory predicts that individual larvae should often selfishly bias their development to become reproductives, even if it hurts the colony. A classic example of a tragedy of the commons. But do they?
November 24, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Becoming a worker is altruistic, but becoming a queen or king offers direct fitness benefits. 👑
Theory predicts that individual larvae should often selfishly bias their development to become reproductives, even if it hurts the colony. A classic example of a tragedy of the commons. But do they?
Theory predicts that individual larvae should often selfishly bias their development to become reproductives, even if it hurts the colony. A classic example of a tragedy of the commons. But do they?
Harmony in the hive? Think again! 🐝⚔️
Insect societies are famous for cooperation, but beneath the surface lies a brutal conflict over who gets to wear the crown!
Our new review in Biological Reviews explores the evolutionary battleground caused by such caste fate conflict. 🧵
Insect societies are famous for cooperation, but beneath the surface lies a brutal conflict over who gets to wear the crown!
Our new review in Biological Reviews explores the evolutionary battleground caused by such caste fate conflict. 🧵
November 24, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Harmony in the hive? Think again! 🐝⚔️
Insect societies are famous for cooperation, but beneath the surface lies a brutal conflict over who gets to wear the crown!
Our new review in Biological Reviews explores the evolutionary battleground caused by such caste fate conflict. 🧵
Insect societies are famous for cooperation, but beneath the surface lies a brutal conflict over who gets to wear the crown!
Our new review in Biological Reviews explores the evolutionary battleground caused by such caste fate conflict. 🧵
We show theoretically that this compounding effect is a key facilitator to evolve complex social life, thereby explaining a major evolutionary transition!
October 31, 2025 at 2:30 PM
We show theoretically that this compounding effect is a key facilitator to evolve complex social life, thereby explaining a major evolutionary transition!
In our new study we were the first to experimentally simulate the origin of sociality! By controlling how many wasp 🐝daughters could help their mom, we found that early helpers don't just add to colony success—they multiply it!
October 31, 2025 at 2:30 PM
In our new study we were the first to experimentally simulate the origin of sociality! By controlling how many wasp 🐝daughters could help their mom, we found that early helpers don't just add to colony success—they multiply it!
Theoretical results show that the observed benefits of helping readily allow for the evolution of eusociality, although most readily so with alleles of large effect (penetrance parameter P=1, bottom row) & under single mating (me=1), when sib-sib relatedness is high.
September 23, 2025 at 9:18 AM
Theoretical results show that the observed benefits of helping readily allow for the evolution of eusociality, although most readily so with alleles of large effect (penetrance parameter P=1, bottom row) & under single mating (me=1), when sib-sib relatedness is high.
We then use our experimental data to parameterize a population genetic model for the evolution of eusociality, with opposing among-group & within-group selection on a eusociality allele.
September 23, 2025 at 9:18 AM
We then use our experimental data to parameterize a population genetic model for the evolution of eusociality, with opposing among-group & within-group selection on a eusociality allele.
Theoretically, we show that these nonlinearities arise from compounding effects of helping early on: workers produced early on help to produce more workers before dispersing sexuals are produced.
September 23, 2025 at 9:18 AM
Theoretically, we show that these nonlinearities arise from compounding effects of helping early on: workers produced early on help to produce more workers before dispersing sexuals are produced.
Our experimental data from Polistes gallicus paper wasps show that there is a concave relationship between the final number of sexuals reared and the proportion of females that stay & help. This shows there are large benefits of helping, but that these are also highly nonlinear.
September 23, 2025 at 9:18 AM
Our experimental data from Polistes gallicus paper wasps show that there is a concave relationship between the final number of sexuals reared and the proportion of females that stay & help. This shows there are large benefits of helping, but that these are also highly nonlinear.
Very happy to see our new study on the evolution of eusociality come out in Evolution Letters! Our study is the first to experimentally manipulate the proportion of females that stay and help to simulate incipient sociality & assess fitness impact of helping. 🧵
September 23, 2025 at 9:18 AM
Very happy to see our new study on the evolution of eusociality come out in Evolution Letters! Our study is the first to experimentally manipulate the proportion of females that stay and help to simulate incipient sociality & assess fitness impact of helping. 🧵
That option of allowing your data to be used for the next model can be switched on or off in the settings... But yes, a bit tricky potentially when people are pasting in copyrighted material. I recall that when you paste in PDFs you are not allowed to publicly share those conversations though.
January 4, 2025 at 11:25 PM
That option of allowing your data to be used for the next model can be switched on or off in the settings... But yes, a bit tricky potentially when people are pasting in copyrighted material. I recall that when you paste in PDFs you are not allowed to publicly share those conversations though.
Happy New Year to you all! My Christmas holidays involved helping my son make a DNA molecule model using a 3D pen & getting a new pet for him: leaf insects! Great fun!
January 4, 2025 at 10:47 PM
Happy New Year to you all! My Christmas holidays involved helping my son make a DNA molecule model using a 3D pen & getting a new pet for him: leaf insects! Great fun!
In first grade we just demonstrated a Makeblock robot with a mobile phone mounted on its back with ChatGPT Advanced Voice Mode, to pretend the robot was able to talk! The kids & teacher absolutely loved it! It answered all the kids' questions for a full hour! It could even talk with a robot voice!
December 16, 2024 at 8:30 PM
In first grade we just demonstrated a Makeblock robot with a mobile phone mounted on its back with ChatGPT Advanced Voice Mode, to pretend the robot was able to talk! The kids & teacher absolutely loved it! It answered all the kids' questions for a full hour! It could even talk with a robot voice!
If I gave it twice as much time to be able to get through all 35 puzzles, ChatGPT o1 gets an IQ score of just 88... Not great...
December 10, 2024 at 11:17 PM
If I gave it twice as much time to be able to get through all 35 puzzles, ChatGPT o1 gets an IQ score of just 88... Not great...
As my son thought some of the graphs were not quite exciting enough, I've also included a fun script that produces various cool visualisation - various fractals etc..., including a couple of 3D ones : www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/qbwo2...
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
November 28, 2024 at 1:17 PM
As my son thought some of the graphs were not quite exciting enough, I've also included a fun script that produces various cool visualisation - various fractals etc..., including a couple of 3D ones : www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/qbwo2...
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
The lecture material of my latest data visualisation class in R, using both base R & ggplot, which was part of our Advanced Biological Data Analysis course here : www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/0via9... #rstats
November 28, 2024 at 1:17 PM
The lecture material of my latest data visualisation class in R, using both base R & ggplot, which was part of our Advanced Biological Data Analysis course here : www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/0via9... #rstats
The popular summary in the Economist was also cool: www.economist.com/science-and-...
November 28, 2024 at 1:07 PM
The popular summary in the Economist was also cool: www.economist.com/science-and-...
Nice perspectives article about our earlier Current Biology study on the inheritance of alternative nest architectures in stingless bees led by my postdoc Viviana Di Pietro: link.springer.com/article/10.3... Original article here: www.researchgate.net/publication/...
November 28, 2024 at 1:07 PM
Nice perspectives article about our earlier Current Biology study on the inheritance of alternative nest architectures in stingless bees led by my postdoc Viviana Di Pietro: link.springer.com/article/10.3... Original article here: www.researchgate.net/publication/...
Ruben's self balancing robot just about made it to the finish line. Great fun those Makeblock robots! :-)
November 28, 2024 at 12:57 PM
Ruben's self balancing robot just about made it to the finish line. Great fun those Makeblock robots! :-)