Sociality has independently arisen in several wood-dwelling insect lineages, yet little is understood about how the properties of decaying logs have favored the evolution of cooperative social groups. Here we evaluate the current literature on wood-dwelling social insects to identify the structural, nutritional, and microbial properties of decaying logs that have led to the repeated evolution of social behavior. Wood-tissue is structural resilient, and thus provided an enclosed, defensible nest site for early wood-feeding insect groups. This structural stability enabled the long-term persistence of family groups, and was likely a key feature in the transition toward more complex eusocial societies. The resilient structure and relatively poor nutritional quality of wood also likely provided a stable environment for the evolution of complex mutualisms with prokaryote and fungal symbionts to digest this resource. Parental care likely evolved as a means to protect the valuable nest site and ensure adequate nutrition for offspring in this environment by allowing parents to both provision and transfer microbial symbionts to offspring. Pathogenic microbes are also abundant in nests constructed in wood-tissue, and social adaptations such as allogrooming and nest maintenance may have evolved in response to microbial invaders. In general, the dynamic relationships between insects, microbes, and the wood-tissue that they inhabit was a critical component in the evolution of sociality in this habitat.

中文翻译：

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从共生体到社会：木材资源如何塑造昆虫社会

社会性在几个木栖昆虫谱系中独立出现，但人们对腐烂原木的​​特性如何有利于合作社会群体的进化知之甚少。在这里，我们评估了当前关于木栖群居昆虫的文献，以确定导致社会行为反复进化的腐烂原木的​​结构、营养和微生物特性。木材组织具有结构弹性，因此为早期以木材为食的昆虫群体提供了一个封闭的、可防御的巢穴。这种结构稳定性使家庭群体能够长期存在，并且可能是向更复杂的真社会社会过渡的一个关键特征。木材的弹性结构和相对较差的营养质量也可能为与原核生物和真菌共生体消化这种资源的复杂共生关系的进化提供了稳定的环境。父母照顾很可能演变为一种手段，通过允许父母提供微生物共生体并将微生物共生体转移给后代，从而保护宝贵的巢穴并确保在这种环境中为后代提供足够的营养。在木组织中建造的巢穴中也含有丰富的病原微生物，并且可能已经进化出对微生物入侵者的反应，例如同种异体和巢穴维护等社会适应性。一般来说，昆虫、微生物和它们栖息的木材组织之间的动态关系是该栖息地社会性进化的关键组成部分。