143-412: See text Hornets (insects in the genus Vespa ) are the largest of the eusocial wasps , and are similar in appearance to yellowjackets , their close relatives. Some species can reach up to 5.5 cm (2.2 in) in length. They are distinguished from other vespine wasps by the relatively large top margin of the head . Worldwide, 22 species of Vespa are recognized. Most species only occur in
286-422: A 25-year cooperation agreement that will strengthen the relations between the two countries and would include "political, strategic and economic" components. Iran-China relations dates back to at least 200 BC and possibly earlier. Iran is one of the few countries in the world that has a good relationship with both North and South Korea . Iran is a member of dozens of international organizations, including
429-478: A multicellular organism ; castes fulfill a specific role that contributes to the functioning and survival of the whole colony, while being incapable of independent survival outside the colony. In 1969, Charles D. Michener further expanded Batra's classification with his comparative study of social behavior in bees. He observed multiple species of bees ( Apoidea ) in order to investigate the different levels of animal sociality, all of which are different stages that
572-480: A ceremonial body without any real power. The political system is based on the country's constitution . Iran ranked 154th in the 2022 The Economist Democracy Index . Juan José Linz wrote in 2000 that "the Iranian regime combines the ideological bent of totalitarianism with the limited pluralism of authoritarianism ". The President is head of government and the second highest-ranking authority, after
715-590: A close economic and military alliance, and are subject to heavy sanctions by Western nations. Iran is the only country in Western Asia that has been invited to join the CSTO , the Russia-based international treaty organization that parallels NATO . Relations between Iran and China are strong economically; they have developed a friendly, economic and strategic relationship. In 2021, Iran and China signed
858-429: A colony may pass through. Eusociality, which is the highest level of animal sociality a species can attain, specifically had three characteristics that distinguished it from the other levels: E. O. Wilson extended the terminology to include other social insects, such as ants, wasps, and termites. Originally, it was defined to include organisms (only invertebrates) that had the following three features: Eusociality
1001-407: A colony, there are both pleated fan-shaped "nest" fronds that collect and hold water, and gutter-shaped "strap" fronds that channel water: no solitary Platycerium species has both types. At the bottom of a colony, there are "nest" fronds that clasp the trunk of the tree supporting the fern, and drooping photosynthetic fronds. These are argued to be adapted to support the colony structurally, i.e. that
1144-498: A device such as an epinephrine autoinjector , with prompt follow-up treatment in a hospital. In severe cases, allergic individuals may go into anaphylactic shock and die unless treated promptly. In general, Vespa stings induce the release of histamine due to the various mastoparans that they contain. However V. orientalis mastoparan is the interesting exception because it does not induce histamine increase in victim tissue – because it does not cause mast cell degranulation – and
1287-542: A distinct political and cultural entity. The Muslim conquest of Persia (632–654) ended the Sasanian Empire and marked a turning point in Iranian history, leading to the Islamization of Iran from the eighth to tenth centuries and the decline of Zoroastrianism . However, the achievements of prior Persian civilizations were absorbed into the new Islamic polity. Iran suffered invasions by nomadic tribes during
1430-408: A feeding hornet can be attacked by the disturbed insect. The adults also attack various insects, which they kill with stings and jaws. Due to their size and the power of their venom, hornets can kill large insects such as honey bees , grasshoppers , locusts , and katydids without difficulty. The victim is fully masticated and then fed to the larvae developing in the nest, rather than consumed by
1573-596: A high prey density. In laboratory assays, workers of V. velutina oriented especially towards geraniol , a component of the honey bee worker aggregation pheromone, that could therefore represent an honest signal for hornets. Behavioral, chemical and electrophysiological analyses have also demonstrated that Vespa bicolor is attracted to (Z)-11-eicosen-1-ol, which is major compound in the alarm pheromones of both Asian ( Apis cerana ) and European ( Apis mellifera ) honey bees, and its antennae respond to this compound. Intriguingly, this hornet attraction to honey bee pheromone
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#17327728751271716-419: A hive of half-sisters that share only 25% of their genes. The association between haplodiploidy and eusociality is below statistical significance. Haplodiploidy is thus neither necessary nor sufficient for eusociality to emerge. Relatedness does still play a part, as monogamy (queens mating singly) is the ancestral state for all eusocial species so far investigated. If kin selection is an important force driving
1859-698: A leading world power, though by the 19th century, it had lost significant territory through conflicts with the Russian Empire . The early 20th century saw the Persian Constitutional Revolution and the establishment of the Pahlavi dynasty . Attempts by Mohammad Mosaddegh to nationalize the oil industry led to an Anglo-American coup in 1953 . After the Iranian Revolution , the monarchy was overthrown in 1979 and
2002-648: A male is haploid, his daughters share 100% of his genes and 50% of their mother's. Therefore, they share 75% of their genes with each other. This mechanism of sex determination gives rise to what W. D. Hamilton first termed "supersisters", more closely related to their sisters than they would be to their own offspring. Even though workers often do not reproduce, they can pass on more of their genes by helping to raise their sisters than by having their own offspring (each of which would only have 50% of their genes). This unusual situation, where females may have greater fitness when they help rear sisters rather than producing offspring,
2145-503: A moderate position internationally. In 1997, Rafsanjani was succeeded by moderate reformist Mohammad Khatami , whose government advocated freedom of expression , constructive diplomatic relations with Asia and the European Union , and an economic policy that supported a free market and foreign investment. The 2005 presidential election brought conservative populist and nationalist candidate Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power. He
2288-469: A papery pulp. Each nest has one queen, which lays eggs and is attended by workers that, while genetically female, cannot lay fertile eggs. Most species make exposed nests in trees and shrubs, but some (such as Vespa orientalis ) build their nests underground or in other cavities. In the tropics, these nests may last year-round, but in temperate areas, the nest dies over the winter, with lone queens hibernating in leaf litter or other insulative material until
2431-508: A pheromone, helping their nest mates to find the food. Reproductive specialization generally involves the production of sterile members of the species, which carry out specialized tasks to care for the reproductive members. Individuals may have behavior and morphology modified for group defense, including self-sacrificing behavior . For example, members of the sterile caste of the honeypot ants such as Myrmecocystus fill their abdomens with liquid food until they become immobile and hang from
2574-466: A possible resolution to the paradox might lie in the close family relationship, which W.D. Hamilton quantified a century later with his 1964 inclusive fitness theory. After the gene-centered view of evolution was developed in the mid-1970s, non-reproductive individuals were seen as an extended phenotype of the genes, which are the primary beneficiaries of natural selection. According to inclusive fitness theory, organisms can gain fitness by increasing
2717-581: A set of pheromones that alter the behavior of specific castes in the colony. These pheromones may act across different species, as observed in Apis andreniformis (black dwarf honey bee), where worker bees responded to queen pheromone from the related Apis florea (red dwarf honey bee). Pheromones are sometimes used in these castes to assist with foraging. Workers of the Australian stingless bee Tetragonula carbonaria , for instance, mark food sources with
2860-416: A species. Multilevel selection has been heavily criticized for its conflict with the kin selection theory. A reversal to solitarity is an evolutionary phenomenon in which descendants of a eusocial group evolve solitary behavior once again. Bees have been model organisms for the study of reversal to solitarity, because of the diversity of their social systems. Each of the four origins of eusociality in bees
3003-471: A strong response from Iran, based on their historical and cultural background. Iran has full-control over the islands. Kish island , as a free trade zone , is touted as a consumer's paradise, with malls, shopping centres, tourist attractions, and luxury hotels. Qeshm is the largest island in Iran, and a UNESCO Global Geopark since 2016. Its salt cave, Namakdan, is the largest in the world, and one of
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#17327728751273146-614: A typical insect sting, while others are among the most venomous known insects. Single hornet stings are not in themselves fatal, except sometimes to allergic victims. Multiple stings by hornets (other than V. crabro ) may be fatal because of highly toxic species-specific components of their venom. The stings of the Asian giant hornet ( V. mandarinia ) are among the most venomous known, and are thought to cause 30–50 human deaths annually in Japan. Between July and September 2013, hornet stings caused
3289-488: A weak form of eusociality. It has been suggested that the colonial and epiphytic staghorn fern , too, may make use of a primitively eusocial division of labor. The term "eusocial" was introduced in 1966 by Suzanne Batra , who used it to describe nesting behavior in Halictid bees, on a scale of subsocial/solitary, colonial/communal, semisocial, and eusocial, where a colony is started by a single individual. Batra observed
3432-529: Is 50%. Therefore, helping behavior is only advantageous if it is biased to helping sisters, which would drive the population to a 1:3 sex ratio of males to females. At this ratio, males, as the rarer sex, increase in reproductive value, reducing the benefit of female-biased investment. Further, not all eusocial species are haplodiploid: termites, some snapping shrimps, and mole rats are not. Conversely, many non-eusocial bees are haplodiploid, and among eusocial species many queens mate with multiple males, resulting in
3575-690: Is a country in West Asia . It borders Turkey to the northwest and Iraq to the west, Azerbaijan , Armenia , the Caspian Sea , and Turkmenistan to the north, Afghanistan to the east, Pakistan to the southeast, the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf to the south. With a multi-ethnic population of almost 90 million in an area of 1,648,195 km (636,372 sq mi), Iran ranks 17th globally in both geographic size and population . It
3718-418: Is a major regional power , due to its large reserves of fossil fuels , including the world's second largest natural gas supply , third largest proven oil reserves , its geopolitically significant location, military capabilities , cultural hegemony , regional influence, and role as the world's focal point of Shia Islam . The Iranian economy is the world's 23rd-largest by PPP . Iran is a founding member of
3861-446: Is a species of ambrosia beetle native to Australia, and is the first beetle (order Coleoptera ) to be recognized as eusocial. This species forms colonies in which a single female is fertilized, and is protected by many unfertilized females, which serve as workers excavating tunnels in trees. This species has cooperative brood care, in which individuals care for juveniles that are not their own. Some gall-inducing insects , including
4004-452: Is accountable only to the Rahbar. The Court's rulings are final and cannot be appealed. The Assembly of Experts, which meets for one week annually, comprises 86 "virtuous and learned" clerics elected by adult suffrage for 8-year terms. Iran is subdivided into thirty-one provinces ( Persian : استان ostân ), each governed from a local centre, usually the largest local city, which is called
4147-487: Is also exploited by the orchid Dendrobium christyanum , which mimics the honey bee alarm pheromone in its flowers' scent to attract hornets that visit and pollinate the flowers. Bee-hunting hornets therefore likely visit the non-rewarding flowers in search of prey. While a history of recognizing subspecies exists within many of the Vespa species, the most recent taxonomic revision of the genus treats all subspecific names in
4290-427: Is an aggregation of relatives (because the shrimp do not have to disperse to find food), and much competition for those nesting sites. Being the target of attack promotes a good defense system (soldier caste); soldiers promote the fitness of the whole nest by ensuring safety and reproduction of the queen. Eusociality offers a competitive advantage in shrimp populations. Eusocial species are more abundant, occupy more of
4433-501: Is correlated with the number of females in the nest, implying that having more females leads to more efficient building and provisioning of cells. In similar species with only one queen, such as Lasioglossum malachurum in Europe, the degree of eusociality depends on the clime in which the species is found. Termites (order Blattodea , infraorder Isoptera ) make up another large portion of highly advanced eusocial animals. The colony
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4576-476: Is defined by the following characteristics: cooperative brood care (including care of offspring from other individuals), overlapping generations within a colony of adults , and a division of labor into reproductive and non-reproductive groups. The division of labor creates specialized behavioral groups within an animal society, sometimes called castes. Eusociality is distinguished from all other social systems because individuals of at least one caste usually lose
4719-563: Is differentiated into various castes: the queen and king are the sole reproducing individuals; workers forage and maintain food and resources; and soldiers defend the colony against ant attacks. The latter two castes, which are sterile and perform highly specialized, complex social behaviors, are derived from different stages of pluripotent larvae produced by the reproductive caste. Some soldiers have jaws so enlarged (specialized for defense and attack) that they are unable to feed themselves and must be fed by workers. Austroplatypus incompertus
4862-478: Is four times that of Europe's. There are over 200 protected areas to preserve biodiversity and wildlife, with over 30 being national parks . Iran's living fauna includes 34 bat species, Indian grey mongoose , small Indian mongoose , golden jackal , Indian wolf , foxes , striped hyena , leopard , Eurasian lynx , brown bear and Asian black bear . Ungulate species include wild boar , urial , Armenian mouflon , red deer , and goitered gazelle . One of
5005-559: Is in a seismically active area. On average, an earthquake of magnitude seven on the Richter scale occurs once every ten years. Most earthquakes are shallow-focus and can be very devastating, such as the 2003 Bam earthquake . Iran consists of the Iranian Plateau . It is one of the world's most mountainous countries; its landscape is dominated by rugged mountain ranges that separate basins or plateaus . The populous west part
5148-701: Is not immunogenic . Hornets, like many social wasps, can mobilize the entire nest to sting in defense, which is highly dangerous to humans and other animals. The attack pheromone is released in case of threat to the nest. In the case of the Asian giant hornet ( V. mandarinia ), this is also used to mobilize many workers at once when attacking colonies of their prey, honey bees and other Vespa species. Three biologically active chemicals, 2-Pentanol , Isoamyl alcohol , and 1-methylbutyl 3-methylbutanoate, have been identified for this species. In field tests, 2-Pentanol alone triggered mild alarm and defensive behavior, but adding
5291-542: Is not divided between castes. Though controversial, it has been suggested that male homosexuality and female menopause could have evolved through kin selection . This would mean that humans sometimes exhibit a type of alloparental behavior known as " helpers at the nest ", with juveniles and sexually mature adolescents helping their parents raise subsequent broods, as in some birds, some non-eusocial bees , and meerkats . These species are not eusocial: they do not have castes, and helpers reproduce on their own if given
5434-497: Is often invoked to explain the multiple independent evolutions of eusociality (at least nine separate times) within the Hymenoptera. Against the supposed benefits of haplodiploidy for eusociality, Robert Trivers notes that while females share 75% of genes with their sisters in haplodiploid populations, they only share 25% of their genes with their brothers. Accordingly, the average relatedness of an individual to their sibling
5577-687: Is often reliably predicted by ecological conditions, and switches in behavioral type have been experimentally induced by translocating offspring of solitary or social populations to warm and cool climates. In H. rubicundus , females produce a single brood in cooler regions and two or more broods in warmer regions, so the former populations are solitary while the latter are social. In another species of sweat bees, L. calceatum , social phenotype has been predicted by altitude and micro-habitat composition, with social nests found in warmer, sunnier sites, and solitary nests found in adjacent, cooler, shaded locations. Facultatively social bee species, however, which comprise
5720-543: Is the sixth-largest country entirely in Asia and one of the world's most mountainous countries. Officially an Islamic republic , Iran has a Muslim-majority population . The country is divided into five regions with 31 provinces . Tehran is the nation's capital , largest city and financial center . A cradle of civilization , Iran has been inhabited since the Lower Palaeolithic . The large part of Iran
5863-551: Is the highest judge of the Supreme Court of Iran . The Chief Justice nominates candidates to serve as minister of justice, and the President selects one. The Chief Justice can serve for two five-year terms. The Special Clerical Court handles crimes allegedly committed by clerics , although it has taken on cases involving laypeople . The Special Clerical Court functions independently of the regular judicial framework and
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6006-635: Is the most mountainous, with ranges such as the Caucasus , Zagros , and Alborz , the last containing Mount Damavand , Iran's highest point, at 5,610 m (18,406 ft), which is the highest volcano in Asia. Iran's mountains have impacted its politics and economics for centuries. The north part is covered by the lush lowland Caspian Hyrcanian forests , near the southern shores of the Caspian Sea. The east part consists mostly of desert basins, such as
6149-542: The Oxford English Dictionary as / ɪ ˈ r ɑː n / and / ɪ ˈ r æ n / , while American English dictionaries provide pronunciations which map to / ɪ ˈ r ɑː n , - ˈ r æ n , aɪ ˈ r æ n / , or / ɪ ˈ r æ n , ɪ ˈ r ɑː n , aɪ ˈ r æ n / . The Cambridge Dictionary lists / ɪ ˈ r ɑː n / as the British pronunciation and / ɪ ˈ r æ n / as
6292-489: The Army , the head of Supreme National Security Council , and has the power to declare a state of emergency after passage by the parliament. The President is responsible for the implementation of the constitution, and for the exercise of executive powers in implementing the decrees and general policies as outlined by the Rahbar, except for matters directly related to the Rahbar, who has the final say. The President functions as
6435-620: The Caucasus to the Russian Empire following the Russo-Persian Wars . Iran remained a monarchy until the 1979 Iranian Revolution , when it officially became an Islamic republic on 1 April 1979. Since then, Iran has experienced significant political, social, and economic changes. The establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran led to the restructuring of its political system, with Ayatollah Khomeini as
6578-497: The Damaraland mole-rat ( Fukomys damarensis ), both of which are highly inbred . Usually living in harsh or limiting environments, these mole-rats aid in raising siblings and relatives born to a single reproductive queen. However, this classification is controversial owing to disputed definitions of 'eusociality'. To avoid inbreeding , mole rats sometimes outbreed and establish new colonies when resources are sufficient. Most of
6721-625: The G-15 , G-24 , G-77 , IAEA , IBRD , IDA , NAM , IDB , IFC , ILO , IMF , IMO , Interpol , OIC , OPEC , WHO , and the UN , and currently has observer status at the WTO . The military is organized under a unified structure, the Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces , comprising the Islamic Republic of Iran Army , which includes the Ground Forces , Air Defence Force , Air Force , and Navy ;
6864-639: The Islamic Golden Age . A series of Iranian Muslim dynasties ended Arab rule, revived the Persian language and ruled the country until the Seljuk and Mongol conquests of the 11th to 14th centuries. In the 16th century, the native Safavids re-established a unified Iranian state with Twelver Shi'ism as the official religion . During the Afsharid Empire in the 18th century, Iran was
7007-766: The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps , which consists of the Ground Forces , Aerospace Force , Navy , Quds Force , and Basij ; and the Law Enforcement Command (Faraja), which serves an analogous function to a gendarme . While the IRIAF protects the country's sovereignty in a traditional capacity, the IRGC is mandated to ensure the integrity of the Republic, against foreign interference, coups, and internal riots. Since 1925 , it
7150-775: The Kassites , Mannaeans , and Gutians . Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel called the Persians the "first Historical People". The Iranian Empire began in the Iron Age with the rise of the Medes , who unified Iran as a nation and empire in 625 BC. The Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BC), founded by Cyrus the Great , was the largest empire the world had seen, spanning from the Balkans to North Africa and Central Asia . They were succeeded by
7293-763: The Kavir Desert , which is the country's largest desert, and the Lut Desert , as well as salt lakes . The Lut Desert is the hottest recorded spot on the Earth's surface, with 70.7 °C recorded in 2005. The only large plains are found along the coast of the Caspian and at the north end of the Persian Gulf, where the country borders the mouth of the Arvand river . Smaller, discontinuous plains are found along
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#17327728751277436-623: The Late Middle Ages and early modern period , negatively impacting the region. Iran was reunified as an independent state in 1501 by the Safavid dynasty , which established Shia Islam as the empire's official religion, marking another turning point in the history of Islam . Iran functioned again as a leading world power, especially in rivalry with the Ottoman Empire . In the 19th century, Iran lost significant territories in
7579-947: The Primorsky Krai , Khabarovsky Krai (southern part), and Jewish Autonomous Oblast regions of Russia, and China , Korea , Taiwan , Cambodia , Laos , Vietnam , Indochina , India , Nepal , Sri Lanka , and Thailand , but is most commonly found in the mountains of Japan , where they are commonly known as the giant sparrow bee. The Oriental hornet ( V. orientalis ) occurs in semidry, subtropical areas of central Asia ( Azerbaijan , Armenia , Dagestan in Russia, Iran , Afghanistan , Oman , Pakistan , Bangladesh , Turkmenistan , Uzbekistan , Tajikistan , Kyrghyzstan , southern Kazakhstan ), and southern Europe ( Italy , Malta , Albania , Romania , Turkey , Greece , Bulgaria , Cyprus ). The Asian hornet ( V. velutina ) has been introduced to France , Spain , Portugal , Italy , and
7722-478: The Republic of Azerbaijan (611 km or 380 mi); to the north by the Caspian Sea ; to the northeast by Turkmenistan (992 km or 616 mi); to the east by Afghanistan (936 km or 582 mi) and Pakistan (909 km or 565 mi); to the south by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman ; and to the west by Iraq (1,458 km or 906 mi) and Turkey (499 km or 310 mi). Iran
7865-650: The Seleucid , Parthian , and Sasanian Empires , who governed Iran for almost 1,000 years, making Iran a leading power once again. Persia's arch-rival during this time was the Roman Empire and its successor, the Byzantine Empire . Iran endured invasions by the Macedonians , Arabs , Turks , and Mongols . Despite these invasions, Iran continually reasserted its national identity and developed as
8008-560: The South Caucasus . However, they have shared common interests, such as the issue of Kurdish separatism and the Qatar diplomatic crisis . Iran has a close and strong relationship with Tajikistan . Iran has deep economic relations and alliance with Iraq , Lebanon and Syria, with Syria often described as Iran's "closest ally". Russia is a key trading partner, especially in regard to its excess oil reserves. Both share
8151-635: The United Kingdom . Hornets have stingers used to kill prey and defend nests. Hornet stings are more painful to humans than typical wasp stings because hornet venom contains a large amount (5%) of acetylcholine . Individual hornets can sting repeatedly. Unlike honey bees , hornets do not die after stinging because their stingers are very finely barbed (only visible under high magnification) and can easily be withdrawn, so are not pulled out of their bodies when disengaging. The toxicity of hornet stings varies according to hornet species; some deliver just
8294-666: The United Nations , OIC , OPEC , and ECO as well as a current member of the NAM , SCO , and BRICS . Iran is home to 28 UNESCO World Heritage Sites , the 10th highest in the world, and ranks 5th in Intangible Cultural Heritage , or human treasures. The term Iran ' the land of the Aryans ' derives from Middle Persian Ērān , first attested in a 3rd-century inscription at Naqsh-e Rostam , with
8437-471: The gall -forming aphid , Pemphigus spyrothecae (order Hemiptera ), and thrips such as Kladothrips (order Thysanoptera ), are described as eusocial. These species have very high relatedness among individuals due to their asexual reproduction (sterile soldier castes being clones produced by parthenogenesis ), but the gall-inhabiting behavior gives these species a defensible resource. They produce soldier castes for fortress defense and protection of
8580-519: The gene-centered view of evolution , eusociality was seen as paradoxical: if adaptive evolution unfolds by differential reproduction of individual organisms, the evolution of individuals incapable of passing on their genes presents a challenge. In On the Origin of Species , Darwin referred to the existence of sterile castes as the "one special difficulty, which at first appeared to me insuperable, and actually fatal to my theory". Darwin anticipated that
8723-544: The parliament . The Rahbar is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces , controls military intelligence and security operations, and has sole power to declare war or peace. The heads of the judiciary, state radio and television networks, commanders of the police and military, and the members of the Guardian Council are all appointed by the Rahbar. The Assembly of Experts is responsible for electing
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#17327728751278866-905: The 2nd-most powerful person in Iran, was assassinated by the US , heightening tensions between them . Iran retaliated against US airbases in Iraq , the largest ballistic missile attack ever on Americans; 110 sustained brain injuries . Hardliner Ebrahim Raisi ran for president again in 2021 , succeeding Hassan Rouhani . During Raisi's term, Iran intensified uranium enrichment , hindered international inspections, joined SCO and BRICS, supported Russia in its invasion of Ukraine and restored diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia. In April 2024, Israel's airstrike on an Iranian consulate , killed an IRGC commander. Iran retaliated with UAVs , cruise and ballistic missiles ; 9 hit Israel. Western and Jordanian military helped Israel down some Iranian drones. It
9009-455: The American pronunciation. Voice of America 's pronunciation guide provides / ɪ ˈ r ɑː n / . Iran is home to one of the world's oldest continuous major civilizations, with historical and urban settlements dating back to 4000 BC. The western part of the Iranian plateau participated in the traditional ancient Near East with Elam (3200–539 BC), and later with other peoples such as
9152-540: The Guardian Council is not needed. The Leader can revert the decisions of the Guardian Council. The constitution gives the council three mandates: veto power over legislation passed by the parliament , supervision of elections and approving or disqualifying candidates seeking to run in local, parliamentary, presidential, or Assembly of Experts elections. The council can nullify a law based on two accounts: being against Sharia (Islamic law), or being against
9295-508: The Guardian Council, and serves as an advisory body to the Supreme Leader, making it one of the most powerful governing bodies in Iran. The Parliament has 207 constituencies, including the 5 reserved seats for religious minorities. The remaining 202 are territorial, each covering one or more of Iran's counties . Iran uses a form of Sharia law as its legal system, with elements of European Civil law . The Supreme Leader appoints
9438-582: The Islamic Republic of Iran was established by Ruhollah Khomeini , who became the country's first Supreme Leader . In 1980, Iraq invaded Iran , sparking the eight-year-long Iran–Iraq War , which ended in stalemate. Iran is officially governed as a unitary Islamic republic with a presidential system , with ultimate authority vested in a Supreme Leader. The government is authoritarian and has attracted widespread criticism for its significant violations of human rights and civil liberties. Iran
9581-407: The Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman have mild winters, and very humid and hot summers. The annual precipitation ranges from 135 to 355 mm (5.3 to 14.0 in). More than one-tenth of the country is forested . About 120 million hectares of forests and fields are government-owned for national exploitation. Iran's forests can be divided into five vegetation regions: Hyrcanian region which forms
9724-475: The Rahbar, and has the power to dismiss him on the basis of qualifications and popular esteem. To date, the Assembly of Experts has not challenged any of the Rahbar's decisions nor attempted to dismiss him. The previous head of the judicial system, Sadeq Larijani , appointed by the Rahbar, said that it is illegal for the Assembly of Experts to supervise the Rahbar. Many believe the Assembly of Experts has become
9867-509: The Revolution or Supreme Leadership Authority, is the head of state and responsible for supervision of policy. The president has limited power compared to the Rahbar. Key ministers are selected with the Rahbar's agreement and they have the ultimate say on foreign policy. The Rahbar is directly involved in ministerial appointments for Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Affairs, as well as other top ministries after submission of candidates from
10010-586: The Supreme Leader. Iran's foreign relations have been shaped by the Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988), ongoing tensions with the United States, and its nuclear program, which has been a point of contention in international diplomacy. In 1989, Akbar Rafsanjani concentrated on a pro-business policy of rebuilding the economy without breaking with the ideology of the revolution. He supported a free market domestically, favoring privatization of state industries and
10153-455: The Supreme Leader. The President is elected by universal suffrage for 4 years. Before elections , nominees to become a presidential candidate must be approved by the Guardian Council . The Council's members are chosen by the Leader, with the Leader having the power to dismiss the president. The President can only be re-elected for one term. The president is the deputy commander-in-chief of
10296-526: The ability to perform behaviors characteristic of individuals in another caste. Eusocial colonies can be viewed as superorganisms . Eusociality has evolved among the insects , crustaceans , trematoda and mammals . It is most widespread in the Hymenoptera ( ants , bees , and wasps ) and in Blattodea ( termites ). A colony has caste differences: queens and reproductive males take the roles of
10439-567: The accompanying Parthian inscription using Aryān , in reference to the Iranians . Ērān and Aryān are oblique plural forms of gentilic nouns ēr- (Middle Persian) and ary- (Parthian), deriving from Proto-Iranian language *arya- (meaning ' Aryan ', i.e. of the Iranians), recognised as a derivative of Proto-Indo-European language *ar-yo- , meaning ' one who assembles (skilfully) ' . According to Iranian mythology ,
10582-632: The adult hornets. Some of their prey being considered pests, hornets may be considered beneficial under some circumstances. The larvae of hornets produce a sweet secretion containing sugars and amino acids that workers and queens consume. Hornets' ability to prey upon honey bees is favored by a number of adaptations. Vespa have a larger body size compared to their prey, a heavy exoskeleton to resist bee attacks, and strong mandibles and venomous sting. As concerns hornet hunting strategies, it has been demonstrated that some species such as V. tropica and V. velutina , can use both visual and olfactory cues for
10725-424: The anatomy of the worker caste, which is sterile and provides support for the reproductive caste. Most eusocial societies exist in arthropods , while a few are found in mammals . Some ferns may exhibit a primitive form of eusocial behavior. Eusociality has evolved multiple times in different insect orders, including hymenopterans, termites, thrips, aphids, and beetles. The order Hymenoptera contains
10868-736: The capital (Persian: مرکز , markaz ) of that province. The provincial authority is headed by a governor-general ( استاندار ostândâr ), who is appointed by the Minister of the Interior subject to approval of the cabinet . Iran maintains diplomatic relations with 165 countries , but not the United States and Israel —a state which Iran derecognised in 1979. Iran has an adversarial relationship with Saudi Arabia due to different political and ideologies. Iran and Turkey have been involved in modern proxy conflicts such as in Syria , Libya , and
11011-585: The ceilings of the underground nests, acting as food storage for the rest of the colony. Not all social insects have distinct morphological differences between castes. For example, in the Neotropical social wasp Synoeca surinama , caste ranks are determined by social displays in the developing brood. These castes are sometimes further specialized in their behavior based on age, as in Scaptotrigona postica workers. Between approximately 0–40 days old,
11154-421: The colony against predators, kleptoparasites , and competitors. In these groups, eusociality is produced by both high relatedness and by living in a restricted, shared area. Eusociality has evolved in three different lineages in the colonial crustacean genus Synalphaeus . S. regalis , S. microneptunus , S. filidigitus , S. elizabethae , S. chacei , S. riosi , S. duffyi , and S. cayoneptunus are
11297-523: The colony, it is protected by a specialized caste of sterile soldier trematodes. Soldiers are smaller, more mobile, and develop along a different pathway than sexually mature reproductives. One difference is that a soldier's mouthparts (pharynx) is five times as big as those of the reproductives. They make up nearly a quarter of the volume of the soldier. These soldiers do not have a germinal mass, never metamorphose to be reproductive, and are, therefore, obligately sterile. Soldiers are readily distinguished from
11440-548: The constitution. The Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) is at the top of the foreign policy decisions process. The council was formed during the 1989 Iranian constitutional referendum for the protection and support of national interests, the revolution, territorial integrity and national sovereignty. It is mandated by Article 176 of the Constitution to be presided over by the President . The Leader selects
11583-432: The cooperative behavior of the bees, males and females alike, as they took responsibility for at least one duty (i.e., burrowing, cell construction, oviposition ) within the colony. The cooperativeness was essential as the activity of one labor division greatly influenced the activity of another. Eusocial colonies can be viewed as superorganisms , with individual castes being analogous to different tissue or cell types in
11726-422: The cost of investing in non-reproductive offspring, and an increased risk of disease. All reversals to solitarity have occurred among primitively eusocial groups; none have followed the emergence of advanced eusociality. The "point of no return" hypothesis posits that the morphological differentiation of reproductive and non-reproductive castes prevents highly eusocial species such as the honeybee from reverting to
11869-509: The country, which was succeeded by the Sasanian Empire in the third century AD. Ancient Iran saw some of the earliest developments of writing, agriculture, urbanisation, religion and central government. Muslims conquered the region in the seventh century AD, leading to Iran's Islamization . The blossoming literature , philosophy , mathematics , medicine , astronomy and art became major elements for Iranian civilization during
12012-466: The cycle likely depends on latitude. Adult hornets and their relatives (e.g., yellowjackets ) feed themselves with nectar and sugar-rich plant foods. Thus, they can often be found feeding on the sap of oak trees , rotting sweet fruits, honey, and any sugar-containing foodstuffs. Hornets frequently fly into orchards to feed on overripe fruit, and tend to gnaw a hole in fruit to become totally immersed in its pulp. A person who accidentally picks fruit with
12155-686: The death of 42 people in China. Asian giant hornet's venom can cause allergic reactions and multiple organ failure leading to death, though dialysis can be used to remove the toxins from the bloodstream. As with other wasps, death due to a single sting on the skin only occurs when an allergy is present, and serious outcomes with Asian giant hornet stings in China and Japan are only documented with many stings or anaphylactic shock due to an existing allergy. People who are allergic to wasp venom may also be allergic to hornet stings. Allergic reactions are commonly treated with epinephrine (adrenaline) injection using
12298-680: The dwarf mongoose, the breeding pair receives food priority and protection from subordinates and rarely has to defend against predators. Scientists have debated whether humans are prosocial or eusocial. Edward O. Wilson called humans eusocial apes, arguing for similarities to ants, and observing that early hominins cooperated to rear their children while other members of the same group hunted and foraged. Wilson and others argued that through cooperation and teamwork, ants and humans form superorganisms. Wilson's claims were vigorously rejected by critics of group selection theory, which grounded Wilson's argument, and because human reproductive labor
12441-438: The early phase of infection. This strategic positioning allows them to effectively defend against invaders, similar to how soldier distribution patterns are seen in other animals with defensive castes. They "appear to be an obligately sterile physical caste, akin to that of the most advanced social insects". Among mammals, two species in the rodent group Phiomorpha are eusocial, the naked mole-rat ( Heterocephalus glaber ) and
12584-641: The east, the species' distribution area stretches over the Ural Mountains to western Siberia (found in the vicinity of Khanty-Mansiysk ). In Asia, the European hornet is found in southern Siberia, as well as in eastern China. The European hornet was accidentally introduced to eastern North America about the middle of the 19th century and has lived there since at about the same latitudes as in Europe. However, it has never been found in western North America. The Asian giant hornet ( V. mandarinia ) lives in
12727-509: The eight recorded species of parasitic shrimp that rely on fortress defense and live in groups of closely related individuals in tropical reefs and sponges. They live eusocially with a single breeding female, and a large number of male defenders armed with enlarged snapping claws. There is a single shared living space for the colony members, and the non-breeding members act to defend it. The fortress defense hypothesis additionally points out that because sponges provide both food and shelter, there
12870-440: The entire country as Persia , until 1935, when Reza Shah requested the international community to use its native and original name, Iran ; Iranians called their nation Iran since at least 1000 BC. Today, both Iran and Persia are used culturally, while Iran remains mandatory in official use. The Persian pronunciation of Iran is [ʔiːˈɾɒːn] . Commonwealth English pronunciations of Iran are listed in
13013-524: The eusocial phenotype, with one queen supported by sterile workers and sexually active males ( drones ). In queenless colonies, the lack of queen pheromones causes winged females to quickly shed their wings, develop ovaries and lay eggs. These virgin replacement queens assume the role of the queen and start to produce queen pheromones. Similarly, queen weaver ants Oecophylla longinoda have exocrine glands that produce pheromones which prevent workers from laying reproductive eggs. Similar mechanisms exist in
13156-419: The eusocial wasp Vespula vulgaris . For a queen to dominate all the workers, usually numbering more than 3000 in a colony, she signals her dominance with pheromones. The workers regularly lick the queen while feeding her, and the air-borne pheromone from the queen's body alerts those workers of her dominance. Iran Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran ( IRI ), also known as Persia ,
13299-722: The evolution of eusociality is supported by evidence such as experimentally induced reproductive division of labor, for example when normally solitary queens are forced together. Conversely, female Damaraland mole-rats undergo hormonal changes that promote dispersal after periods of high rainfall. Climate too appears to be a selective agent driving social complexity; across bee lineages and Hymenoptera in general, higher forms of sociality are more likely to occur in tropical than temperate environments. Similarly, social transitions within halictid bees , where eusociality has been gained and lost multiple times, are correlated with periods of climatic warming. Social behavior in facultative social bees
13442-437: The evolution of eusociality, monogamy should be the ancestral state, because it maximizes the relatedness of colony members. Increased parasitism and predation rates are the primary ecological drivers of social organization. Group living affords colony members defense against enemies, specifically predators, parasites, and competitors, and allows them to gain advantage from superior foraging methods. The importance of ecology in
13585-586: The executive of affairs such as signing treaties and other international agreements, and administering national planning, budget, and state employment affairs, all as approved by the Rahbar. The President appoints ministers, subject to the approval of the Parliament, and the Rahbar, who can dismiss or reinstate any minister. The President supervises the Council of Ministers , coordinates government decisions, and selects government policies to be placed before
13728-405: The genus Vespa as synonyms, effectively relegating them to no more than informal names for regional color forms. Hornet larvae are widely accepted as food in mountainous regions in China. Hornets and their nests are treated as medicine in traditional Chinese medicine. Eusociality Eusociality ( Greek εὖ eu "good" and social ) is the highest level of organization of sociality . It
13871-509: The green belt of the north side of the country; the Turan region, which are mainly scattered in the center of Iran; Zagros region , which mainly contains oak forests in the west; the Persian Gulf region , which is scattered in the southern coastal belt; the Arasbarani region , which contains rare and unique species. More than 8,200 plant species are grown. The land covered by natural flora
14014-449: The habitat, and use more of the available resources than non-eusocial species. The trematodes are a class of parasitic flatworm, also known as flukes. One species, Haplorchis pumilio , has evolved eusociality involving a colony creating a class of sterile soldiers. One fluke invades a host and establishes a colony of dozens to thousands of clones that work together to take it over. Since rival trematode species can invade and replace
14157-516: The head of the Supreme Court and chief public prosecutor. There are several types of courts, including public courts that deal with civil and criminal cases, and revolutionary courts which deal with certain offences, such as crimes against national security . The decisions of the revolutionary courts are final and cannot be appealed. The Chief Justice is the head of the judicial system and responsible for its administration and supervision. He
14300-429: The hormonally based behavioral development of workers and suppress their ovarian development. Both behavioral effects mediated by the nervous system often leading to recognition of queens ( releaser ) and physiological effects on the reproductive and endocrine system ( primer ) are attributed to the same pheromones. These pheromones volatilize or are deactivated within thirty minutes, allowing workers to respond rapidly to
14443-416: The immature and mature reproductive worms. Soldiers are more aggressive than reproductives, attacking heterospecific trematodes that infect their host in vitro . H. pumilio soldiers do not attack conspecifics from other colonies. The soldiers are not evenly distributed throughout the host body. They are found in the highest numbers in the basal visceral mass, where competing trematodes tend to multiply during
14586-558: The individuals cooperatively care for the brood of a single reproductive female (the queen) to which they are most likely related. Thus, it is uncertain whether mole rats are truly eusocial, since their social behavior depends largely on their resources and environment. Some mammals in the Carnivora and Primates have eusocial tendencies, especially meerkats ( Suricata suricatta ) and dwarf mongooses ( Helogale parvula ). These show cooperative breeding and marked reproductive skews. In
14729-399: The individuals in the colony are to some degree specialized for tasks, a division of labor . Eusociality is a rare but widespread phenomenon in species in at least seven orders in the animal kingdom , as shown in the phylogenetic tree (non-eusocial groups not shown). All species of termites are eusocial, and it is believed that they were the first eusocial animals to evolve, sometime in
14872-417: The largest group of eusocial insects, including ants , bees , and wasps —divided into castes: reproductive queens , drones , more or less sterile workers, and sometimes also soldiers that perform specialized tasks. In the well-studied social wasp Polistes versicolor , dominant females perform tasks such as building new cells and ovipositing, while subordinate females tend to perform tasks like feeding
15015-407: The larva progresses through five stages of development. During this time, the queen feeds it a protein-rich diet of insects. Then, the larva spins a silk cap over the cell's opening, and during the next two weeks, transforms into an adult, a process called metamorphosis . The adult then eats its way through the silk cap. This first generation of workers, invariably females, now gradually undertakes all
15158-561: The larvae and foraging. The task differentiation between castes can be seen in the fact that subordinates complete 81.4% of the total foraging activity, while dominants only complete 18.6% of the total foraging. Eusocial species with a sterile caste are sometimes called hypersocial. While only a moderate percentage of species in bees (families Apidae and Halictidae ) and wasps ( Crabronidae and Vespidae ) are eusocial, nearly all species of ants ( Formicidae ) are eusocial. Some major lineages of wasps are mostly or entirely eusocial, including
15301-484: The larvae. In early to mid-autumn, they leave the nest and mate during " nuptial flights ". Other temperate species (e.g., the yellow hornet , V. simillima , or the Oriental hornet , V. orientalis ) have similar cycles. In the case of tropical species (e.g., V. tropica ), life histories may well differ, and in species with both tropical and temperate distributions (such as the Asian giant hornet , V. mandarinia ),
15444-498: The legislature. Eight Vice Presidents serve under the President, as well as a cabinet of 22 ministers, all appointed by the president. Presidential and parliamentary candidates must be approved by the 12-member Guardian Council (all members of which are appointed by the Leader) or the Leader, before running to ensure their allegiance. The Leader rarely does the vetting, but has the power to do so, in which case additional approval of
15587-479: The long-range detection of honey bee colonies. Foragers of V. tropica can readily associate color and shape with potential food sources and exhibit color generalization. V. velutina foragers visually distinguish between bee dummy bait and cotton ball dummy bait, both treated with bee odors, preferring bee dummies. Foraging hornets are also selectively attracted to honey bee colony odors, in particular honey and pollen, as well as honey bee pheromones , which may signal
15730-561: The loss of their queen. The levels of two of the aliphatic compounds increase rapidly in virgin queens within the first week after emergence from the pupa , consistent with their roles as sex attractants during the mating flight. Once a queen is mated and begins laying eggs, she starts producing the full blend of compounds. In several ant species, reproductive activity is associated with pheromone production by queens. Mated egg-laying queens are attractive to workers, whereas young winged virgin queens elicit little or no response. Among ants,
15873-610: The majority of social bee diversity, have their lowest diversity in the tropics, being largely limited to temperate regions. Once pre-adaptations such as group formation, nest building, high cost of dispersal, and morphological variation are present, between-group competition has been suggested as a driver of the transition to advanced eusociality. M. A. Nowak, C. E. Tarnita, and E. O. Wilson proposed in 2010 that since eusociality produces an extremely altruistic society, eusocial groups should out-reproduce their less cooperative competitors, eventually eliminating all non-eusocial groups from
16016-655: The military or used for wildlife protection, and entry is prohibited or requires a permit. Iran took control of Bumusa , and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs in 1971, in the Strait of Hormuz between the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. Despite the islands being small and having little natural resources or population, they are highly valuable for their strategic location. Although the United Arab Emirates claims sovereignty, it has consistently been met with
16159-441: The most famous animals is the critically endangered Asiatic cheetah , which survives only in Iran. Iran lost all its Asiatic lions and the extinct Caspian tigers by the early 20th century. Domestic ungulates are represented by sheep , goat , cattle , horse , water buffalo , donkey and camel . Bird species like pheasant , partridge , stork , eagles and falcons are native. The Supreme Leader , "Rahbar", Leader of
16302-744: The name comes from Iraj , a legendary king. Iran was referred to as Persia by the West , due to Greek historians who referred to all of Iran as Persís , meaning 'the land of the Persians '. Persia is the Fars province in southwest Iran, the 4th largest province, also known as Pârs . The Persian Fârs (فارس), derived from the earlier form Pârs (پارس), which is in turn derived from Pârsâ ( Old Persian : 𐎱𐎠𐎼𐎿). Due to Fars' historical importance, Persia originated from this territory through Greek in around 550 BC, and Westerners referred to
16445-490: The national budget. All parliamentary candidates and legislation from the assembly must be approved by the Guardian Council . The Guardian Council can and has dismissed elected members of the parliament. The parliament has no legal status without the Guardian Council, and the Council holds absolute veto power over legislation. The Expediency Discernment Council has the authority to mediate disputes between Parliament and
16588-418: The nest is founded in spring by a fertilized female known as the queen. She generally selects sheltered places such as dark, hollow tree trunks. She first builds a series of cells (up to 50) out of chewed tree bark. The cells are arranged in horizontal layers named combs, each cell being vertical and closed at the top. An egg is then laid in each cell. After 5–8 days, the egg hatches. Over the following two weeks,
16731-401: The opportunity. One plant, the epiphytic staghorn fern, Platycerium bifurcatum ( Polypodiaceae ), may exhibit a primitive form of eusocial behavior amongst clones. The evidence for this is that individuals live in colonies, where they are structured in different ways, with fronds of differing size and shape, to collect and store water and nutrients for the colony to use. At the top of
16874-635: The other two compounds increased aggressiveness in a synergistic effect. In the European hornet ( V. crabro ) the major compound of the alarm pheromone is 2-methyl-3-butene-2-ol. If a hornet is killed near a nest, it may release pheromones that can cause the other hornets to attack. Materials that come into contact with these pheromones, such as clothes, skin, and dead prey or hornets, can also trigger an attack, as can certain food flavorings, such as banana and apple flavorings, and fragrances that contain C 5 alcohols and C 10 esters . In V. crabro ,
17017-428: The peak of its population, which occurs in late summer, the colony can reach a size of 700 workers. At this time, the queen starts producing the first reproductive individuals. Fertilized eggs develop into females (called " gynes " by entomologists), and unfertilized ones develop into males (sometimes called "drones" as with honeybee drones ). Adult males do not participate in nest maintenance, foraging, or caretaking of
17160-529: The president. Regional policy is directly controlled by the Rahbar, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' task limited to protocol and ceremonial occasions. Ambassadors to Arab countries, for example, are chosen by the Quds Force , which directly reports to the Rahbar. The Rahbar can order laws to be amended. Setad was estimated at $ 95 billion in 2013 by Reuters, accounts of which are secret even to
17303-627: The queen pheromone system of the fire ant Solenopsis invicta includes both releaser and primer pheromones. A queen recognition (releaser) pheromone is stored in the poison sac along with three other compounds. These compounds elicit a behavioral response from workers. Several primer effects have also been demonstrated. Pheromones initiate reproductive development in new winged females, called female sexuals. These chemicals inhibit workers from rearing male and female sexuals, suppress egg production in other queens of multiple queen colonies, and cause workers to execute excess queens. These pheromones maintain
17446-706: The remaining coast of the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz , and Gulf of Oman. Iranian islands are mainly located in the Persian Gulf. Iran has 102 islands in Urmia Lake , 427 in Aras River , several in Anzali Lagoon , Ashurade Island in the Caspian Sea , Sheytan Island in the Oman Sea and other inland islands. Iran has an uninhabited island at the far end of the Gulf of Oman , near Pakistan. A few islands can be visited by tourists. Most are owned by
17589-626: The reproductive output of other individuals that share their genes, especially their close relatives. Natural selection favors individuals to help their relatives when the cost of helping is less than the benefit gained by their relative multiplied by the fraction of genes that they share, i.e. when Cost < relatedness * Benefit . W. D. Hamilton suggested in 1964 that eusociality could evolve more easily among haplodiploid species such as Hymenoptera, because of their unusual relatedness structure. In haplodiploid species, females develop from fertilized eggs and males develop from unfertilized eggs. Because
17732-553: The same subfamily. Also, a related genus of Asian nocturnal vespines, Provespa , is referred to as "night wasps" or "night hornets", though they are not true hornets. Some other large wasps are sometimes referred to as hornets, most notably the bald-faced hornet ( Dolichovespula maculata ) found in North America. It is set apart by its black and ivory coloration. The name "hornet" is used for this species primarily because of its habit of making aerial nests (similar to some of
17875-619: The secretary of the Supreme Council, and the decisions of the council are effective after the confirmation by the Leader. The SNSC formulates nuclear policy, and would become effective if they are confirmed by the Leader. The legislature , known as the Islamic Consultative Assembly (ICA), Iranian Parliament or "Majles", is a unicameral body comprising 290 members elected for four-years. It drafts legislation, ratifies international treaties , and approves
18018-522: The sole reproducers, while soldiers and workers work together to create and maintain a living situation favorable for the brood. Queens produce multiple queen pheromones to create and maintain the eusocial state in their colonies; they may also eat eggs laid by other females or exert dominance by fighting. There are two eusocial rodents : the naked mole-rat and the Damaraland mole-rat . Some shrimps , such as Synalpheus regalis , are eusocial. E. O. Wilson and others have claimed that humans have evolved
18161-574: The solitary state. Pheromones play an important role in the physiological mechanisms of eusociality. Enzymes involved in the production and perception of pheromones were important for the emergence of eusociality within both termites and hymenopterans. The best-studied queen pheromone system in social insects is that of the honey bee Apis mellifera . Queen mandibular glands produce a mixture of five compounds, three aliphatic and two aromatic , which control workers. Mandibular gland extracts inhibit workers from constructing queen cells, which can delay
18304-422: The spring. Male hornets are docile and do not have stingers. Hornets are often considered pests because they aggressively guard their nesting sites when threatened and their stings can be more dangerous than those of bees . While taxonomically well defined, some confusion may remain about the differences between hornets and other wasps of the family Vespidae , specifically the yellowjackets, which are members of
18447-402: The subfamilies Polistinae and Vespinae . The corbiculate bees (subfamily Apinae of family Apidae ) contain four tribes of varying degrees of sociality: the highly eusocial Apini (honey bees) and Meliponini (stingless bees), primitively eusocial Bombini (bumble bees), and the mostly solitary or weakly social Euglossini (orchid bees). Eusociality in these families is sometimes managed by
18590-429: The tasks formerly carried out by the queen ( foraging , nest building, taking care of the brood , etc.) with the exception of egg-laying , which remains exclusive to the queen. As the colony size grows, new combs are added, and an envelope is built around the cell layers until the nest is entirely covered, with the exception of an entry hole. To build cells in total darkness, they apparently use gravity to aid them. At
18733-404: The tropics of Asia, though the European hornet ( V. crabro ) is widely distributed throughout Europe, Russia, North America, and north-eastern Asia. Wasps native to North America in the genus Dolichovespula are commonly referred to as hornets (e.g., baldfaced hornets ), but all of them are actually yellowjackets . Like other social wasps, hornets build communal nests by chewing wood to make
18876-546: The true hornets) rather than subterranean nests. Another example is the Australian hornet ( Abispa ephippium ), which is actually a species of potter wasp . Hornets are found mainly in the Northern Hemisphere. The European hornet ( V. crabro ) is the best-known species, widely distributed in Europe (but is never found north of the 63rd parallel ), and European Russia (except in extreme northern areas). In
19019-749: The upper Jurassic period (~150 million years ago). The other orders shown contain both eusocial and non-eusocial species, including many lineages where eusociality is inferred to be the ancestral state. Thus the number of independent evolutions of eusociality ( clades ) is not known. The major eusocial groups are shown in boldface in the phylogenetic tree. Mole-rats [REDACTED] Synalpheus spp. [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Kladothrips spp. [REDACTED] various Aphids [REDACTED] Austroplatypus incompertus [REDACTED] many Vespidae (wasps) [REDACTED] [REDACTED] many Bees [REDACTED] Staghorn fern Platycerium bifurcatum [REDACTED] Prior to
19162-573: The west part. The UN Resident Coordinator for Iran, has said that " Water scarcity poses the most severe human security challenge in Iran today". To the west, settlements in the Zagros basin experience lower temperatures, severe winters with freezing average daily temperatures and heavy snowfall. The east and central basins are arid, with less than 200 mm (7.9 in) of rain and have occasional deserts. Average summer temperatures rarely exceed 38 °C (100.4 °F). The southern coastal plains of
19305-419: The workers perform tasks within the nest such as provisioning cell broods, colony cleaning, and nectar reception and dehydration. Once older than 40 days, S. postica workers move outside the nest for colony defense and foraging. In Lasioglossum aeneiventre , a halictid bee from Central America, nests may be headed by more than one female; such nests have more cells, and the number of active cells per female
19448-451: The world's longest caves. Iran's climate is diverse, ranging from arid and semi-arid , to subtropical along the Caspian coast and northern forests. On the north edge of the country, temperatures rarely fall below freezing and the area remains humid. Summer temperatures rarely exceed 29 °C (84.2 °F). Annual precipitation is 680 mm (26.8 in) in the east part of the plain and more than 1,700 mm (66.9 in) in
19591-511: Was elected to office. Iran has an area of 1,648,195 km (636,372 sq mi). It is the sixth-largest country entirely in Asia and the second-largest in West Asia. It lies between latitudes 24° and 40° N , and longitudes 44° and 64° E . It is bordered to the northwest by Armenia (35 km or 22 mi), the Azeri exclave of Nakhchivan (179 km or 111 mi), and
19734-550: Was first unified as a political entity by the Medes under Cyaxares in the seventh century BC, and reached its territorial height in the sixth century BC, when Cyrus the Great founded the Achaemenid Empire , one of the largest in ancient history . Alexander the Great conquered the empire in the fourth century BC. An Iranian rebellion established the Parthian Empire in the third century BC and liberated
19877-422: Was followed by at least one reversal to solitarity, giving a total of at least nine reversals. In a few species, solitary and eusocial colonies appear simultaneously in the same population, and different populations of the same species may be fully solitary or eusocial. This suggests that eusociality is costly to maintain, and can only persist when ecological variables favor it. Disadvantages of eusociality include
20020-600: Was known for his hardline views, nuclearisation, and hostility towards Israel , Saudi Arabia , the UK , the US and other states. He was the first president to be summoned by the parliament to answer questions regarding his presidency. In 2013, centrist and reformist Hassan Rouhani was elected president. In domestic policy, he encouraged personal freedom, free access to information, and improved women's rights. He improved Iran's diplomatic relations through exchanging conciliatory letters. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)
20163-658: Was reached in Vienna in 2015, between Iran, the P5+1 ( UN Security Council + Germany) and the EU. The negotiations centered around ending the economic sanctions in exchange for Iran's restriction in producing enriched uranium . In 2018, however, the US under Trump Administration withdrew from the deal and new sanctions were imposed. This nulled the economic provisions, left the agreement in jeopardy, and brought Iran to nuclear threshold status . In 2020, IRGC general, Qasem Soleimani ,
20306-642: Was the largest drone strike in history, biggest missile attack in Iranian history, its first ever direct attack on Israel and the first time since 1991 , Israel was directly attacked by a state force. This occurred during heightened tensions amid the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip . In May 2024, President Raisi was killed in a helicopter crash , and Iran held a presidential election in June, when reformist and former Minister of Health , Masoud Pezeshkian ,
20449-511: Was then discovered in a group of chordates , the mole-rats. Further research distinguished another possibly important criterion for eusociality, "the point of no return". This is characterized by having individuals fixed into one behavioral group, usually before reproductive maturity. This prevents them from transitioning between behavioral groups, and creates a society with individuals truly dependent on each other for survival and reproductive success. For many insects, this irreversibility has changed
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