eusociality

Form of social life found in insects such as honey bees and termites, in which the colony is made up of special castes (for example, workers, drones, and reproductives) whose membership is biologically determined. The worker castes do not usually reproduce. Only one mammal, the naked mole rat, has a social organization of this type. A eusocial shrimp was discovered in 1996 living in the coral reefs of Belize. Synalpheus regalis lives in colonies of up to 300 individuals, all the offspring of a single reproductive female. See also social behaviour.