Variation in season length and development time is sufficient to drive the emergence and coexistence of social and solitary behavioral strategies

Season length and its associated variables can influence the expression of social behaviors, including the occurrence of eusociality in insects. Among bees, ants, and wasps, social behaviors can vary widely across environmental gradients, both within and between different species. While numerous theoretical models have been developed to examine the traits in a species’ life history that underlie the emergence and maintenance of eusociality, the impact of seasonality on this process is largely uncharacterized. Here, we present a theoretical model that builds on these foundational models by incorporating season length and offspring development time. The integration of these environmental and life history traits into a single, individual-focused model enables detailed examination of how these factors can shape the costs and benefits of social living. We find that longer season lengths and faster brood development times are sufficient to favor the emergence and maintenance of a social strat..., Data available for all locations for the period 1965 to 1975 using the Center for Environmental Data Analysis (CEDA) and the Climate Data Online Search (CDOS) for England (Dartmoor, Inverness, Sussex, Hexham) and the US (Crested Butte and Almont), respectively., , # Weather Data

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.rjdfn2zmr](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.rjdfn2zmr)

## Description of the data and file structure

Data available for all locations for the period 1965 to 1975 using the Center for Environmental Data Analysis (CEDA) (UnitedKigdomRawData.csv) and the Climate Data Online Search (CDOS) (ColoradoRawData.csv) for England (Dartmoor, Hexham, Inverness, Sussex) and the US (Almont and Crested Butte), respectively.

Variables used in analysis:

**ColoradoRawData.csv**

*STATION --* Research station the data was collected

*NAME --* Location the data was collected

*DATE --* Date (From 1965-1975) the weather data was collected

*TMAX --* Maximum air temperature on DATE in degrees Celsius 

*TMIN --* Minimum air temperature on DATE in degrees Celsius 

*TOBS--* Temperature at the time of observation

**UnitedKingdomRawData.csv**

*ob_end_time --* End of range of data analysis

*src_id* -- id of weather station (Sussex = 803, Inverness = 297, Hexham = ...