Social insects, such as bees and ants, are notoriously uninhibited in sacrificing themselves for the greater good when necessary. This is because reproduction occurs exclusively by a few individuals – the queen and her mating partners. Ordinary workers have no chance of having their own offspring and therefore cannot pass on their genes in a direct line. Since the queen is the mother of all workers, they are all siblings and therefore have a high proportion of common genes. By supporting the collective, the sisters also promote the continued existence of their own genetic makeup – whereby the support can go as far as self-sacrifice.
