Ant castes: homology and analogy in form and function

Ant societies consist of reproductive and sterile adults that show tremendous diversity of phenotypes. These include permanently wingless queens and a soldier caste that evolved convergently in many genera. Myrmecologists describe ant castes with terminology based on form, or function, or both, moreover terms are used inconsistently in the literature. Because morphology changes less readily than behaviour, an emphasis on morphological definitions is recommended to facilitate comparative studies and understand the evolutionary origin of castes.

This is the english (original) version of a chapter published in Spanish in the book

HORMIGAS DE COLOMBIA (editors F. Fernández, R. Guerrero & T. Delsinne). National University of Colombia (2019)

Capitulo 6   Castas: homología y analogía en la forma y función