Question: Tropical swarm-founding wasps, like ants and bees, rely on workers to raise their offspring. One possible explanation for this strange behavior is inbreeding, which increases relatedness among the wasps and makes it easier for the workers to pick out and aid their closest relatives. To test this theory, 197 swarm-founding wasps were captured in Venezuela, frozen at –70ºC, and then subjected to a series of genetic tests. The data were used to generate an inbreeding coefficient, x, for each wasp specimen, with the following results: X bar = 0.044 and σ = 0.884.

a. Construct a 90% confidence interval for the mean inbreeding coefficient of this species of wasp.

b. A coefficient of zero implies that the wasp has no tendency to inbreed. Use the confidence interval, part a, to make an inference about the tendency for this species of wasp to inbreed.