In this review, we provide a current reference on disease resistance in insect societies. We start with the genetics of immunity in the context of behavioral and physiological processes and scale up levels of biological organization until we reach populations. A significant component of this review focuses on Apis mellifera and its role as a model system for studies on social immunity. We additionally review the models that have been applied to disease transmission in social insects and elucidate areas for future study in the field of social immunity.

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We found that 5-ASA therapy is associated with higher 6-TGn levels in children and adults with IBD on 6-MP/AZA. TPMT inhibition may not explain this effect because 5-ASA exposure did not affect 6-MMP levels. The observed association of CD with higher 6-TGn levels is novel and needs to be verified in prospective studies.

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Invasive species are of growing ecological concern, in part because of conflicts arising with native congeners. The European paper wasp Polistes dominulus was first introduced to North America in the 1970s, and may be displacing at least one native species, P. fuscatus. Previous reports indicate that in native territories over half of P. dominulus colonies are infected by Strepsipteran parasites, which decrease host fitness. In North America, P. fuscatus are parasitized to a lesser degree (approximately one-third), but no infected colonies of invasive P. dominulus have been reported. Because immune function is an indicator of susceptibility to parasitism, we quantified activated levels of immune function by measuring the encapsulation response and phenoloxidase activity and then compared these levels between species. Counterintuitively, our results indicate that P. dominulus has lower levels of both mechanisms of immunity. Additionally, P. dominulus displayed less self-grooming activity than P. fuscatus. We briefly discuss possible immunological explanations for this invasion success, including the selective expression of low immunocompetence.

Many social insect species have mating systems or recognition abilities that minimize the chance of inbreeding. In haplodiploid systems, inbreeding is especially costly due to the production of sterile offspring such as diploid males. Diploid males (and their triploid offspring) have been identified in invasive populations of the paper wasp, Polistes dominulus, but to date have not been reported in its native populations. Due to the degree of genetic diversity in the invasive populations, it is unlikely that the production of these genetic 'misfits' is the result of a genetic bottleneck alone, but rather that errors in nestmate recognition may play a role. Here, we investigated sexual interactions and nestmate recognition in male and female P. dominulus. We observed nine types of behavioral interactions (55 h of behavioral observation consisting of 1,514 interactions) from triads of paper wasps composed of one gyne (female) and two males-one nestmate male and one non-nestmate male. The frequency of male-or femaleinitiated aggressive behavior did not differ between nestmates or non-nestmates. Non-nestmates were more likely to attempt to copulate with the gyne, but successful copulations were very rare and occurred between non-nestmates and nestmates. We discuss these results within the context of invasion biology.