Why do insects such as bees and ants work productively in groups non-stop as opposed to other insects such as grasshoppers and mosquitoes?
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From a point of reproduction and evolution, every colony forms a singular unit. The genes that are passed on are the queen’s, while she produces workers that allow her to fulfill that goal. The queen that produces the best and most loyal workers will get to reproduce. There is no incentive for the workers to be produced that are in any way selfish or wouldn’t do anything that’s best for the colony over themselves, there is no competition in the hierarchy, they have evolved to have the singular and common purpose of keeping the colony alive and allowing the queen to reproduce. It’s the same way that human cells in a body have no incentive to compete against each other and only serve the common goal of keeping the body alive; a neutrophil’s literal purpose is to blow up on pathogens to stop infection; a skin cell’s purpose is to die and harden to form a protective barrier.
Compare this with solitary insects or even humans; while some social behaviours exist, every unit carries its own genes and must reproduce. So when it comes down to it, natural selection says everyone must fend for themselves. And so these animals will be less social, more competitive, and are constantly in a race to one up each other.
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