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429 points sampo | 2 comments | | HN request time: 0.001s | source
1. LarsDu88 ◴[] No.45304541[source]
This seems on the surface to violate Hamilton's Law (rB > C)

The hybrid worker ants should still share 75% of their DNA with the queen and therefore it makes sense for them to cooperate regardless of the source of DNA for their father.

The M. structor male clones however do not share any DNA with the queen presumably.

I wouldn't be surprised if further studies found that the M. structor genes were behaving selfishly. They must have some sort of aggressive mechanism for hijacking and evicting the queen genes for making clones.

Alternatively there could be a parasitic organism propagating through the reproductive procress.

replies(1): >>45306325 #
2. bsza ◴[] No.45306325[source]
All the workers are hybrid. Queen gets to have workers, which she otherwise couldn’t produce. M. structor males get to pass on 100% of their genes. There is no altruism involved.