The gyne (, from Greek γυνή, "woman") is the primary reproductive female

caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultur ...

of social insects (especially

ant Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of ...

wasp A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder ...

s, and

bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfami ...

s of order

Hymenoptera Hymenoptera is a large order of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. Over 150,000 living species of Hymenoptera have been described, in addition to over 2,000 extinct ones. Many of the species are parasitic. Females typic ...

, as well as

termite Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes ( eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blat ...

s). Gynes are those destined to become queens, whereas female workers are typically barren and cannot become queens. Having a queen is what makes a "queenright" hive, nest, or colony of

eusocial Eusociality (from Greek εὖ ''eu'' "good" and social), the highest level of organization of sociality, is defined by the following characteristics: cooperative brood care (including care of offspring from other individuals), overlapping gen ...

insects. A colony with multiple queens is said to be a polygyne form, whereas one with only one is a monogyne form. The

red imported fire ant The red imported fire ant (''Solenopsis invicta''), also known as the fire ant or RIFA, is a species of ant native to South America. A member of the genus '' Solenopsis'' in the subfamily Myrmicinae, it was described by Swiss entomologist Feli ...

is known to have colonies in both polygyne and monogyne forms. The small red ant, '' Leptothorax acervorum'', has colonies that switch from monogyny to polygyny as a result of seasonal fluctuations. The little fire ant ''Wasmannia auropunctata'' produces unique kinds of meiotic

oocyte An oocyte (, ), oöcyte, or ovocyte is a female gametocyte or germ cell involved in reproduction. In other words, it is an immature ovum, or egg cell. An oocyte is produced in a female fetus in the ovary during female gametogenesis. The female ...

s with a drastic reduction in recombination. These oocytes may either fuse together for gyne production ( automictic parthenogenesis with central fusion) or be fertilized by male gametes for the production of workers. In the wasp species '' Apoica flavissima'' queens display distinct morphological differences from the sterile worker class. In '' Ropalidia plebeiana'', gynes do not stay in the nest after they emerge as adults, but may spend their winters in their maternal nests. In species lacking morphological castes (i.e., where "workers" may not be sterile), the term "gyne" is usually reserved for those females whose entire life is spent as a reproductive or potential reproductive, as opposed to those who start life as a worker and subsequently attain reproductive status (often called a "replacement queen" or a "laying worker"). These can be seen in certain species of

stingless bee Stingless bees, sometimes called stingless honey bees or simply meliponines, are a large group of bees (about 550 described species), comprising the tribe Meliponini (or subtribe Meliponina according to other authors). They belong in the family A ...

like the ''

Plebeia remota ''Plebeia remota'' is a species of stingless bee that is in the family Apidae and tribe Meliponini. Bees of the species are normally found in a few states in southern Brazil and their nests can be found in tree cavities. Depending on the region, ...

'' where both gynes and workers are capable of reproducing. In most species with annual colony cycles, only gynes can enter

diapause In animal dormancy, diapause is the delay in development in response to regular and recurring periods of adverse environmental conditions.Tauber, M.J., Tauber, C.A., Masaki, S. (1986) ''Seasonal Adaptations of Insects''. Oxford University Press I ...

and overwinter, while workers – both non-reproductive and reproductive – die off. In some groups, such as

paper wasps Paper wasps are vespid wasps that gather fibers from dead wood and plant stems, which they mix with saliva, and use to construct nests made of gray or brown papery material. Some types of paper wasps are also sometimes called umbrella wasps, d ...

, gynes join with other gynes at the time of nest founding, and may be relegated to subordinate reproductive roles, so being a gyne does not guarantee that a female will become a queen.

References

''The Insect Societies''
E.O. Wilson, 1971,

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retir ...

, {{ISBN, 0-674-45490-1 Insect ecology Insect reproduction Sociobiology

See also

References