Competition, cooperation, and parental effects in larval aggregations formed on carrion by communally breeding beetles Necrodes littoralis (Staphylinidae: Silphinae) - dataset

<p>A dataset contains data from the experiment focused on the group-size effect in larval aggregations formed on carrion by necrophaguous beetles <em>Necrodes littoralis</em>. By manipulating parental effects (present/absent) and larval density (0.02−1.9 larvae/g of meat), a strong negative group-size effect on juvenile fitness was found in colonies with parental effects over almost the entire density range, and in colonies without parental effects for densities larger than 0.5 larva/g. This was accompanied by positive group-size effects in terms of development time and thermogenesis. A positive group-size effect (on juvenile fitness) was found only in colonies without parental effects and only in the low-density range. </p>