Introduction
Social behavior is a set of interactions among individuals within a
species and is displayed in a wide spectrum of forms, and eusociality
represents the most intimate and complex degree of social organization.
Eusociality is defined by the presence of distinct reproductive and
non-reproductive castes, overlapping generations, and cooperative care
for the brood within a colony (Engels 1990; Kocher and Paxton 2014).
Reproductives (kings and queens) and non-reproductives (workers or
soldiers) in the colonies are differentiated morphologically,
physiologically, and behaviorally (Wilson 1971; Sherman et al. 1994;
Engel 2012). Although the most well-characterized eusocial species are
represented by termites and hymenopteran insect species (such as
honeybees or ants), eusociality has been reported in several other
insect, non-insect, or even vertebrate species (Sherman et al. 1994;
Duffy et al. 2000).
Although taxonomically rare, eusocial insect species exhibit great
ecological importance, as approximately 50 % of the world insect
biomass is represented by eusocial insect species (Wilson 1971; Kocher
and Paxton 2014). Despite their abundance and renown, little is known
regarding the ability of eusocial insects to offer an appealing
opportunity for the scientific community to uncover mechanisms
underlying how the social environment can alter the rate of organism
aging. Due to their extraordinary caste-related lifespan differences,
their plasticity in the rate of aging in the social context, and their
contradiction of the usual fecundity/lifespan trade-off, eusocial
insects provide an excellent model system for research on aging. This
article proposes the possible role of telomerase and telomere biology in
life-span regulation concerning the reproduction strategy of animal
species.