Hymenoptera have haploid males, which produce sperm by cloning. Sperm selection theory predicts that because termites have diploid males that produce genetically diverse sperm, they may profit from a high sperm surplus (large K), whereas Hymenoptera (ants, bees and wasps) should produce few sperm per fertilization (low K). Male reproductive "kings", which continuously provide spermatozoa during the whole life of the queen, allow for a large K. Available empirical evidence confirms the existence of a large difference in K between diploid insects, especially Blattodea (Isoptera) (K > 1,000), and haplo-diploids such as Hymenoptera (K < 10). The available data suggest that sperm selection may be an important evolutionary force for species with diploid, but not haploid males.

中文翻译：

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精子选择的需要可以解释为什么白蚁群落有国王和蚁后，而蚂蚁、黄蜂和蜜蜂只有蚁后。

膜翅目有单倍体雄性，通过克隆产生精子。精子选择理论预测，由于白蚁具有产生基因多样性精子的二倍体雄性，它们可能会从高精子盈余（大 K）中获益，而膜翅目（蚂蚁、蜜蜂和黄蜂）每次受精应该产生很少的精子（低 K）。雄性生殖“王”在蚁后的整个生命周期中不断提供精子，允许大 K。 现有的经验证据证实二倍体昆虫之间的 K 存在很大差异，尤其是 Blattodea (Isoptera) (K > 1,000) ，以及单倍体二倍体，如膜翅目（K < 10）。现有数据表明，精子选择可能是具有二倍体而非单倍体雄性的物种的重要进化力量。