Our lovely new apiary just one street away from the lab, in the Redingenstraat in Leuven.

PhD student Uli Ernst showing his bees.

The native honeybee Apis mellifera. Currently we have a genomics project going on in which we are using microarray technology to determine which genes are involved in the suppressed fertility of the honeybee workers. We also have a project coming up about the possible role of deformed wing virus in Colony Collapse Disorder.

Honeybee workers cannibalizing or "policing" eggs laid by other workers. Photo (c) F. Ratnieks

The Brazilian stingless bee Melipona subnitida. In collaboration with colleagues from Brazil, we are looking at the conflict associated with the decision of larvae to become either a queen or a worker. Popularising articles on this can be found here (in Dutch) and here (in English).

The Brazilian stingless bee Melipona scutellaris. In collaboration with Denise Alves and Vera-Imperatriz Fonseca from the University of São Paulo we discovered that when the mother queen (middle) happens to die, many colonies are invaded by unrelated queens that fly in from unrelated hives nearby. This was the first demonstration that queens in highly eusocial bees can found colonies not only via supersedure or swarming, but also via social parasitism. A popularising article on this can be found here. Photo (c) Denise Alves

The beautiful nest of the Brazilian stingless bee Plebeia remota. In collaboration with colleagues from Brazil, I studied conflicts associated with caste determination. In this and other related species, we discovered that larvae reared in worker cells occasionally develop as miniature queens as a means to escape from an intended worker fate. A popularising article on this can be found here.

The beautiful nest entrance of the Brazilian stingless bee Tetragonisca angustula.

These leafcutter ants from Panama tend fungus gardens, which they farm for food. In a recent study published in Science Magazine, we found that the ants have specialised crypts on their body which harbour antibiotic secreting bacteria that protect the fungus garden against disease. Popularising articles on this can be found here (in Dutch) and here (in English). Photo (c) Alex Wild

The Indian ant Harpegnathos saltator. In collaboration with colleagues from Switzerland and the UK we studied the biomechanics of its jumping behaviour and the chemistry of some of its pheromones.

These Oecophylla weaver ants from Africa use their larvae to construct silken nests. In collaboration with colleagues from the University of Keele we studied the chemistry of some of their pheromones.

In the Malaysian ant Acanthomyrmex ferox we discovered that the large soldiers engage in spectacular "sumo wrestling" fights to settle the social hierarchy in the colony. Popularising articles on this can be found here (in Dutch) and here (in English).

These Australian bulldog ants have a fierce sting. In our lab we studied the ultrastructure of some of their pheromone-producing exocrine glands.

These army ants from Kenya form impressive raiding columns consisting of up to 20 million workers. In collaboration with colleagues from the University of Keele we were the first to identify the trail pheromone of Old world army ants. Photo (c) Alex Wild

This Finnish wood ant Formica truncorum forms impressive mounds. In collaboration with colleagues from Helsinki we found that the ants harbour maternally inherited Wolbachia bacteria. To prevent a cost to the colony, the bacteria are cleared in the worker caste, and retained only in the queen caste, through which they are transmitted to the next generation.

The native Pharaoh's ant, frequently a pest in apartment buildings.

A native black ant (Lasius niger) tending black bean aphids. PhD students Amelie Vantaux and Thomas Parmentier are studying the ant-aphid mutualism in more detail, and are looking at the processes that keep the mutualism honest.

Another one of the native black ant (Lasius niger) collecting aphid honeydew for food.

The Brazilian queenless ant Dinoponera or "Dinosaur ant". With workers reaching up to 3 cm in length it is the largest ant in the world. As in Diacamma, it has mated workers who take over the role of the queen. In collaboration with colleagues from Brazil we have studied the morphology of some of its exocrine glands and the chemistry of their secretions. We are also investigating several other species of queenless ant, to determine how they resolve conflicts in their societies.

In the Japanese queenless ant Diacamma, mated workers take over the role of the queen. In collaboration with colleagues from Paris and Japan we have discovered that workers mutilate younger siblings, and that this prevents them from mating. Current work is following up on this. For a popularising article on this in Dutch, check out this

The inside of a nest of the german wasp Vespula germanica. Recently, we discovered that workers in this species cannibalize or "police" eggs laid by other workers, in line with relatedness predictions. Two recent papers of ours in Science Magazine and Annual Review of Entomology review some of the work on policing in wasps, bees and ants.

A queen of the common wasp Vespula vulgaris visiting a Rhododendron flower. In an ongoing project we are studying sperm competition in different species of Vespine wasps.

The common wasp Vespula vulgaris. Kevin Foster discovered that workers in this species cannibalize or "police" eggs laid by other workers. Current work, in collaboration with the Universities of Keele and Copenhagen, is aimed at identifying the pheromones used in worker policing in this species.

Tom collecting a wasp nest.

One we got into only recently, as a bit of a sideline - the Brazilian social spider Parawixia bistriata. It forms colonies of up to 1,000 spiders and constructs a giant web that extends over 20 metres.

During the day the Parawixia spiders cluster together in a big ball.

A Parawixia spider sitting in the centre of her web.

Two Parawixia spiders sharing a prey item.