Previous research has demonstrated that, irrespective of prior familiarity, both social and solitary rodent species respond differentially to odours of other individuals based on the degree of genetic relatedness between them. To investigate whether eusocial species also make odour-based genetic relatedness discriminations, male and female Ansell’s mole-rats (Cryptomys anselli) were exposed to ano-genital odours of unfamiliar opposite-sex conspecifics (one unrelated individual and one “estranged” sibling, from whom they had been separated for 27 days). Habituation tests with the odours of “estranged” siblings and courtship tests confirmed that the “estranged” siblings and their odours were treated as unfamiliar. Subjects spent significantly more time investigating unrelated individuals and their odours, than their “estranged” siblings and their odours, indicating discriminative behaviour toward less genetically similar individuals. The findings suggest that eusocial mole-rats can respond differentially to odours based on their degree of relatedness to the odour donors.
The role of relatedness and diet in kin recognition was investigated in the aphidophagous ladybirds Propylea dissecta and Coccinella transversalis. Third instar larvae of both species exhibited kin recognition, as they were reluctant to consume related first instar larvae. They spent significantly more time prior to cannibalism when interacting with genetically related victims; this indicates the presence of a kin recognition system. Kin recognition, however, was not evident in fourth instar larvae as they ate both related and unrelated victims. This result reveals that the need of fourth instar larvae to attain a critical weight for pupation might subdue kin recognition. The diet of cannibals did not affect cannibalism, number of encounters or time that elapsed prior to cannibalism. This indicates that kin recognition is not dependent on exogenous cues derived from the diets of the cannibal and victim.