亚利桑那州立大学研究团队对一项延续60年的进化生物学理论提出挑战。[1]该理论主张单倍二倍体遗传系统解释了蚂蚁、蜜蜂和黄蜂如何演化出高度社会化的群体结构。[1]新研究通过分析近69000个昆虫物种发现，遗传系统单独无法预测真社会性的演化。[1]
生命科学学院博士生Sachin Suresh表示，"当我们正式测试时，我们发现遗传决定系统与真社会性之间没有真正的关联，这更多与环境因素和昆虫的生活史特征有关。"[1]研究发现，膜翅目昆虫（包括蜇针蜂、蜜蜂和蚂蚁）几乎占据了所有统计信号。[1]在膜翅目昆虫之外的单倍二倍体昆虫中，其真社会性进化率与二倍体昆虫相似。[1]
该研究由Timothy Linksvayer主持，已发表在《Current Biology》期刊2026年第36卷第15期。[1]
Researchers at Arizona State University have challenged a long-standing evolutionary biology theory by analyzing nearly 69,000 insect species.[1] The traditional theory, which has prevailed for six decades, proposed that the haplodiploid genetic system—in which males develop from unfertilized eggs and females from fertilized ones—explains how ants, bees and wasps evolved their highly organized social societies.[1] However, the new study found that the genetic system alone cannot predict the evolution of eusociality, suggesting instead that specific biological characteristics and environmental factors unique to particular insect groups play the decisive role.[1]
The research, led by doctoral student Sachin Suresh from Arizona State University's School of Life Sciences with senior author Timothy Linksvayer, was published in Current Biology Volume 36, Issue 15, in 2026.[1] According to Suresh, "When we formally tested this, we found there was no real association between the genetic determination system and eusociality—it has more to do with environmental factors and the life history characteristics of insects."[1] The analysis revealed that Hymenoptera—the order encompassing wasps, bees and ants—accounted for nearly all the statistical signal supporting the traditional theory, while haplodiploid insects outside this group showed eusociality evolution rates comparable to diploid insects.[1]