> > >This discussion seems to forget that evolutionary advantage would be for  the species, not the individual.

It's difficult to see how a trait could be beneficial to a species without benefitting the individual. Invoking group selection overlooks the fact that the individual is the one that passes the genetic material on. 

In this case, the individual is the queen. She is the one who *creates* the superorganism and her offspring (queens and drones) pass on the success of that colony. It is the success of individuals that ensure the success of a species. 

When looking at group selection, one must be mindful that the group is formed by individuals, who have the trait of congregating. Further, individuals within a group can adapt to a group environment, much as a parasite adapts to its host. 

Finally, following Gould, there is much more to traits, phenotypes, and evolution than adaptation. Adaptation is certainly the biggest slice of the pie, but many features simply defy an adaptationist reduction. 

> An adaptationist programme has dominated evolutionary thought in England and the United States during the past forty years. It is based on faith in the power of natural selection as an optimizing agent. -- The Spandrels of San Marco and the Panglossian Paradigm: A Critique of the Adaptationist Programme. Stephen Jay Gould and Richard C. Lewontin

http://condor.wesleyan.edu/courses/2004s/ees227/01/spandrels.html

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