Associate Certified Entomologist (ACE) Practice Exam

Which social insects are least likely to develop resistance and why?

1. Bees, wasps, and ants

2. Ants, termites, and bees

3. Termites, ants, and butterflies

4. Flies, ants, and bees

The correct answer is: Ants, termites, and bees

The answer emphasizes that ants, termites, and bees are social insects that typically exhibit lower tendencies to develop resistance, and this can be attributed to several biological and ecological factors inherent to their social structures and behaviors. Firstly, social insects often engage in cooperative brood care, which means that resistance traits (like genetic mutations that might confer resistance to pesticides or pathogens) can be spread throughout the colony more efficiently due to the close-knit social structures. In essence, when one individual in a social colony develops a beneficial trait, it can quickly be shared with others, making it less likely that entire colonies will rely on a single vulnerable generation that might develop resistance traits. Secondly, social insects like ants and termites have complex colony dynamics and division of labor. Their interactions with one another, such as grooming, can help reduce the impacts of pathogens or chemicals, which can slow the evolution of resistance because many members of the colony contribute to the health and vitality of the collective. Additionally, these species often have intricate life cycles and reproductive strategies, which mean that it can take longer for resistance traits to establish across generations compared to more solitary insects that reproduce and evolve more independently. Thus, the combination of cooperative behaviors, social interactions, and colony structure among ants, termites, and bees