Melanin–based plumage coloration in the house finch is unaffected by coccidial infection

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Abstract
Sex ratios in slave–making ants have been posed as important test cases for the hypothesis that eusociality evolved via kin selection in insects. Trivers & Hare proposed that sex ratios in slave–makers should reflect the queen's interests whereas sex ratios in free–living host ants should reflect the workers' interests. We analyse patterns of allocation to males versus females, as well as allocation to growth versus reproduction for slave–making ants in the tribe Formicoxenini. We find little support for the hypothesis of exclusive queen control; instead, our results implicate queen–worker conflict in slave–making ants, both over male allocation ratios and over allocation to growth versus reproduction.