Maternal Influence: Honey Bees Inherit Altruism

A study by Penn State researchers has found that honey bees display altruistic behavior, such as deactivating their own ovaries and tending to the queen, which benefits her ability to produce offspring. The study also revealed that the genes responsible for this behavior can be inherited from either parent, but only result in altruistic behavior when passed down from the mother. The findings support the Kinship Theory of Intragenomic Conflict, suggesting that genes from mothers and fathers are in conflict over which behaviors to support. This research provides insight into bee behavior and highlights the influence of parental gene inheritance on behavior expression.