social insects

insects that live together in groups, exhibiting reproductive division of labor, cooperation in care of the young, and multiple generations working together. In colonies of some bees, ants, wasps, and termites, reproduction is limited to one or a few queens, and large numbers of workers (sterile females) build nests, forage for food, tend the larvae, and defend the nest. Social insects are haplodiploid (see haplodiploidy), with males developing from unfertilized eggs. This means that workers share 75% of their genes (whereas queen and worker share only 50%), so they have greater inclusive fitness by tending their siblings than they would by breeding on their own. See also eusociality.

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Psychology term of the day

November 19th 2024

psychopathology

1. the scientific study of mental disorders, including their theoretical underpinnings, etiology, progression, symptomatology, diagnosis, and treatment. This broad discipline draws on research from numerous areas, such as psychology, biochemistry, pharmacology, psychiatry, neurology, and endocrinology. The term in this sense is sometimes used synonymously with abnormal psychology.

2. the behavioral or cognitive manifestations of such disorders. The term in this sense is sometimes considered synonymous with mental disorder itself. —psychopathological adj. —psychopathologist n.