Kin selection in disguise?

In a recent article E.O. Wilson and B. Hölldobler (2005) describe an heuristic model for the evolution of eusociality. They present their model as an alternative to the standard model of kin selection, and describe the evolution of eusociality in terms of changes in frequency to an hypothetical eusocial allele. Here I build on sentiments of Foster et al. (2006) to suggest that the proposed model is not a clear alternative to the standard model, but appears to represent a special case of kin selection involving preferential interactions among individuals sharing the same altruistic gene. The model proposed by Wilson and Hölldobler is consistent with the ‘greenbeard’ model of kin selection, first proposed by W.D. Hamilton.