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10-Minute Presentation

Systematics, Evolution, and Biodiversity

10-min: SysEB, Evolution 1 - Lineages Through Time

The evolution of cheaper workers facilitated larger societies and accelerated diversification in ants

Sunday, November 9, 2025

4:54 PM - 5:06 PM Pacific

Location: Oregon Convention Center, B113, OCC

Presenting Author(s)

EE

Evan P. Economo

University of Maryland
College Park, Maryland

Co-Author(s)

AM

Arthur Matte

Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge
Cambridge, England, United Kingdom
BG

Benoit Guénard

The University of Hong Kong
Hong Kong SAR, China (People's Republic)
SG

Shubham Gautam

Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology
Onna, Okinawa, Japan
FA

Fumika Azuma

Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology
Onna, Okinawa, Japan
JK

Julian Katzke (he/him/his)

Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology
Onna, Okinawa, Japan
FH

Francisco Hita Garcia

Center for Integrative Biodiversity Discovery,Museum für Naturkunde
Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Thomas van de Kamp

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Baden-Wurttemberg, GER

Trade-offs between quantity and quality are common in the organization and evolution of biological, technological, and economic systems. In social insects, shifts from solitary organisms to complex societies bring this dilemma at the scale of the colony: producing fewer robust units or many cheaper ones. We investigate how cuticle investment—a major nutritional cost—shaped the evolution of ant societies and their diversification. Using a computer vision approach applied to 3D X-ray microtomography scans of 880 specimens from 507 species, we show that the evolution of larger colonies was facilitated by reducing exoskeleton investment rather than worker miniaturization. Furthermore, reduced cuticle investment was associated with accelerated diversification rates in ants, while other candidates—colony size and worker size—were not correlated with diversification rate. Diet and climate had measurable but secondary effects on cuticle investment. Our results support a hypothesis whereby the evolution of cheaper but more numerous units through reduced investment in structural tissues was a strategic trend in the evolution and diversification of more complex insect societies.