Social Insects and Apiculture
A section of Insects (ISSN 2075-4450).
Section Information
The Section Social Insects and Apiculture focuses on any aspect of the biology and ecology of social insects, from understanding molecular, developmental, and physiological processes to behavior, social organization, and ecological aspects. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, caste determination, polyphenism, social influences on development, the regulation of division of labor, the regulation of reproduction, communication, kin structure, social foraging, nest structure and function, and any aspect of social and collective behavior. We are also interested in theoretical, conceptual, and modeling contributions in regard to both the function and evolution of sociality and social behavior in insects. Given the economic importance of bees to agricultural and natural ecosystems, the Section also invites contributions related to bee keeping and mass rearing. In addition to more traditional social insect models such as ants, termites, bees, and wasps, we also plan to publish contributions addressing the social behavior or social organization of species from all insect orders.
Keywords
- Social behavior and apiculture
- Social complexity, sociality, insect societies, and social organization
- Caste determination, caste differentiation, and polyphenism
- Division of labor, task allocation, and task performance
- Dominance and regulation of reproduction
- Communication and pheromones
- Kin selection, kin structure, and multilevel selection
- Major transitions in evolution, the evolution of insect sociality, and social evolution
- Social foraging and collective group behavior
- Nest structure and function
- Apiculture, bee keeping, industrial rearing of bees and other social insects, bee health, and social insect domestication
Editorial Board
Special Issues
Following special issues within this section are currently open for submissions:
- Bee Conservation: Behavior, Health and Pollination Ecology (Deadline: 20 June 2025)
- Recent Advances in Bee Parasite, Pathogen, and Predator Interactions (Deadline: 31 July 2025)
- Bee Health and Beehive Management in a Changing World (Deadline: 15 August 2025)
- Biology and Conservation of Honey Bees (Deadline: 30 September 2025)
- Bumblebee Biology and Ecology (Deadline: 31 December 2025)
Topical Collections
Following topical collections within this section are currently open for submissions:
