What is Trophallaxis?
[[File:SSL12022p.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Trophallaxis in weaver ant ''Oecophylla smaragdina'', [[Thailand]].]] '''Trophallaxis''' in [[biology]] refers the sharing of [[food]] by members of a [[community]]. It is most highly developed in social [[insect]]s such as [[ant]]s, [[termite]]s, [[wasp]]s and [[bee]]s. The word was introduced by the [[entomology|entomologist]] William Morton Wheeler in 1918.<ref>Wheeler W.M. 1918. A study of some ant larvae with a consideration of the origin and meaning of social habits among insects. ''Proc. Am. Phil. Soc''., '''57''', 293-343.</ref> The behaviour has been used to explain theories of how social behaviour developed in insects.<ref>Roubaud E. 1916. Recherches biologiques sur les guepes solitaires et sociales d'Afrique. La genese de la vie sociale et l'evolution de l'instinct maternel chez les vespides. ''Ann Sci Nat'' '''1''':1-160</ref> The French [[psychologist]] and entomologist August Forel also believed that food sharing was key to ant society. He used an illustration of it as the frontispiece for his book ''The social world of the ants compared with that of man''.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Journal of History of the Behavioral Sciences|volume=38|issue=2|pages=133–156|year=2002|doi=10.1002/jhbs.10033| title=Brave new worlds: trophallaxis and the origin of society in the early twentieth century|author=Sleigh, Charlotte|pmid=11954038}}</ref> Trophallaxis serves as a means of [[communication]], at least in bees and ants. In some species of ants, it may play a role in spreading the [[Colony (biology)|colony]] odour that identifies members.<ref>Dahbi A. Hefetz A. Cerda X. and Lenoir A. 1999. Trophallaxis mediates uniformity of colony odor in ''Cataglyphis iberica'' ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) ''Journal of Insect Behavior''. '''12'''(4):559-567 [http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=1988030 abstract] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229172934/http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=1988030 |date=2012-02-29 }}</ref> == References == {{refli