The evolution of division of labour: why does division of labour evolve and what factors affect the form that it takes?

The evolution of complex life has been driven by a small number of major transitions, where individuals join together to form a new higher-level organism. The role of division of labour has been pivotal in driving these transitions. If we want to understand how complex life on Earth evolved, we need to understand how and why division of labour evolved. Following recent advances in analytical techniques, and an explosion in the availability of life history, ecological and phylogenetic data, we are now able to tackle these questions. We use a comparative approach across a broad taxonomic range, that includes all of the major insect clades, to resolve a longstanding controversy and identify the factors that favour the evolution of division of labour. Division of labour is a unifying feature across all levels of biological organisation and understanding why division of labour evolves could have important implications for our understanding of evolutionary biology, microbiology, and behavioural ecology.