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The division of labor creates specialized behavioral groups within an animal society, sometimes called castes. Eusociality is distinguished from all other social systems because individuals of at least one caste usually lose the ability to perform behaviors characteristic of individuals in another caste.
Charles Darwin considered the evolution of eusociality a major problem for his theory of natural selection.In The Origin of Species, he described the existence of sterile worker castes in the social insects as "the one special difficulty, which at first appeared to me insuperable and actually fatal to my whole theory".
An animal that exhibits a high degree of sociality is called a social animal. The highest degree of sociality recognized by sociobiologists is eusociality. A eusocial taxon is one that exhibits overlapping adult generations, reproductive division of labor, cooperative care of young, and—in the most refined cases—a biological caste system.
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Ant colonies have a complex social structure. Ants’ jobs are determined and can be changed by age. As ants grow older their jobs move them farther from the queen, or center of the colony. Younger ants work within the nest protecting the queen and young. Sometimes, a queen is not present and is replaced by egg-laying workers.
Social bonding is observed in many interspecies interactions such as those between humans and their household pets, humans and primates, and many other animals in the wild. [ 2 ] [ 14 ] [ 15 ] [ 20 ] Since social bonding involves communication and interactions between different species, it can lead to the development of interspecies friendships.
"Beagles are known for being good-natured and friendly with people, children, and other animals," says Dr. Callaghan. "They are typically very social and enjoy being part of a pack.
The queen is the reproductive member of the colony. Some ant species will only have one queen, while others will form polygynous colonies of multiple queens, such as Argentine ants Linepithema humile. [2] The workers are responsible for supporting the queen, maintenance, and foraging. Unlike queens and drones, workers are born wingless.