How do complex social behaviors evolve and shape species' success? Here doi.org/10.1038/s420... we reveal how a key social behavior in ants - mouth-to-mouth food sharing #trophallaxis - emerged as ants opportunistically exploited new ecological niches as terrestrial environments changed. - ThreadSky

adriatica.bsky.social • 113 days ago

How do complex social behaviors evolve and shape species' success? Here https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-07688-7 we reveal how a key social behavior in ants - mouth-to-mouth food sharing #trophallaxis - emerged as ants opportunistically exploited new ecological niches as terrestrial environments changed.

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adriatica.bsky.social•113 days ago

Using Bayesian neural networks and evolutionary modelling, we show that trophallaxis evolved twice in ants: 130 million years ago when flowering plants became more abundant and ants began harvesting sugary liquids from plants and their insect partners, and again in others ~90 million years ago.

adriatica.bsky.social•113 days ago

This ecological opportunity could *only* be seized in lineages where workers had given up their ability to reproduce independently, reducing social conflict within colonies.

adriatica.bsky.social•113 days ago

The evolution of trophallaxis enabled ants to develop larger colonies and it accelerated net diversification, paralleling how resource sharing drove other major evolutionary innovations like the emergence of complex multicellular life.

adriatica.bsky.social•113 days ago

This paper shows how the combination of ecological opportunism and reduced social conflict can spark social innovations, offering broader insights into the evolution of complex social systems. (incredible trophallaxis photos by François Brassard)

adriatica.bsky.social•113 days ago

In sum, when there is both a reason to share (an opportunity to exploit new resources) and a willingness to share (not too much social conflict), new social sharing networks can evolve!

adriatica.bsky.social•113 days ago

In human terms, it was a paper built on espresso (me and Daniele) and cigarette (MP) break inspiration outside our lab annexed off the main Biology building at @unifr.bsky.social. I had never envisioned going into phylogenetic methods but now I love it!

germusthermophilus.bsky.social•113 days ago

Cool paper! So...
1. Trophallaxis evolved in ants independently from bees?
2. What was the driver for the second time trophallaxis evolved in ants?

adriatica.bsky.social•113 days ago

Thanks!
1. Yes, also separately from in wasps and termites.
2. Probably the same things as the 130 Ma acquisition, but this lineage maintained worker reproductive autonomy longer.

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