1 00:00:00,400 --> 00:00:03,920 Speaker 1: Hey, everybody, chuck here real quick with some bad news 2 00:00:03,960 --> 00:00:07,680 Speaker 1: and sad news. Uh. Sketch Fest this year in San Francisco, 3 00:00:08,520 --> 00:00:10,160 Speaker 1: which is where we were gonna have our first live 4 00:00:10,200 --> 00:00:12,239 Speaker 1: show in two years here in a couple of weeks, 5 00:00:12,280 --> 00:00:16,439 Speaker 1: has been postponed. I believe they're looking to postponed it 6 00:00:16,480 --> 00:00:18,560 Speaker 1: by a whole year and kind of rebooked the whole 7 00:00:18,600 --> 00:00:22,079 Speaker 1: festival ideally, but you know, with what's going on around 8 00:00:22,079 --> 00:00:24,000 Speaker 1: the country with Omicron, they didn't feel like they could 9 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:27,319 Speaker 1: press forward, and UH, as bummed as we are, we 10 00:00:27,360 --> 00:00:30,960 Speaker 1: think it's the right move as well. So, uh, if 11 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:34,559 Speaker 1: you have tickets, just stay tuned for an announcement. I 12 00:00:34,600 --> 00:00:38,080 Speaker 1: think you will either probably be able to well I'm 13 00:00:38,080 --> 00:00:40,600 Speaker 1: not exactly sure what's going to happen with them, maybe 14 00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:42,760 Speaker 1: a refund maybe if you hold onto them, they're good 15 00:00:42,800 --> 00:00:45,479 Speaker 1: for next year because we're probably gonna look in the 16 00:00:45,520 --> 00:00:49,200 Speaker 1: same theater. But listen up for announcement soon. And again, 17 00:00:49,280 --> 00:00:52,920 Speaker 1: all apologies, we're super sad about it. We're really looking 18 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:56,560 Speaker 1: forward to getting back out there again. But until further notice, 19 00:00:57,240 --> 00:01:00,720 Speaker 1: live shows are still on hold. All right, now here 20 00:01:00,760 --> 00:01:04,919 Speaker 1: we go with the show. Welcome to stuff you should 21 00:01:04,920 --> 00:01:14,080 Speaker 1: know A production of I Heart Radio. Hey, and welcome 22 00:01:14,120 --> 00:01:16,920 Speaker 1: to the podcast. I'm Josh Clark, and there's Charles W. 23 00:01:17,080 --> 00:01:19,679 Speaker 1: Chuck Brian over there, and this is stuff you should know, 24 00:01:21,400 --> 00:01:24,720 Speaker 1: um one that I'm super super excited about and didn't 25 00:01:24,720 --> 00:01:27,240 Speaker 1: realize that I would be this excited about Chuck because 26 00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:30,000 Speaker 1: this is a Chuck pick and hats off to you, sir. 27 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:34,760 Speaker 1: I'm surprised that, uh had you just never really thought 28 00:01:34,760 --> 00:01:37,160 Speaker 1: about ants much? Yeah, I mean I've looked at them before, 29 00:01:37,200 --> 00:01:40,880 Speaker 1: but I've never really researched him. I guess I've I've 30 00:01:40,920 --> 00:01:44,040 Speaker 1: seen documentaries and then that of course, the animated cartoon 31 00:01:44,080 --> 00:01:48,120 Speaker 1: Ants years ago kind of got me into it. And 32 00:01:48,520 --> 00:01:50,560 Speaker 1: I feel like every time I've watched a Nature documentary 33 00:01:50,560 --> 00:01:53,840 Speaker 1: about ants, I'm just like continually amazed. Yeah, I mean 34 00:01:53,880 --> 00:01:55,960 Speaker 1: they are like amazing. I knew they were amazing, I 35 00:01:56,000 --> 00:01:58,720 Speaker 1: just had no idea how amazing they were. Like so 36 00:01:58,800 --> 00:02:03,400 Speaker 1: much so we could conceivably do a spinoff podcast on 37 00:02:03,680 --> 00:02:07,800 Speaker 1: just ants, if you ask me, I'm willing to do that. 38 00:02:07,880 --> 00:02:11,000 Speaker 1: I'm just putting it out there right now. Hey, you 39 00:02:11,080 --> 00:02:12,960 Speaker 1: have fun and knock yourself out. No, no, it has 40 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:15,040 Speaker 1: to bebably the first one to subscribe it has to 41 00:02:15,080 --> 00:02:18,160 Speaker 1: be both of us, I'm afraid. Uh, we do need 42 00:02:18,240 --> 00:02:22,960 Speaker 1: to thank the original inspiration for this though, Joey from Tucson. 43 00:02:23,520 --> 00:02:28,440 Speaker 1: Oh you remember that? Oh yeah, what was that a 44 00:02:28,480 --> 00:02:31,320 Speaker 1: listener mail that came in? No, this was during our 45 00:02:32,120 --> 00:02:34,880 Speaker 1: co Ed Oh yes, yes, yes, our friends at co 46 00:02:35,080 --> 00:02:40,600 Speaker 1: ed auctioned off a zoom with Josh and I and 47 00:02:40,760 --> 00:02:42,840 Speaker 1: some people were kind enough to donate some money and 48 00:02:42,880 --> 00:02:45,639 Speaker 1: we had a zoom and we hung out with everyone 49 00:02:45,720 --> 00:02:49,840 Speaker 1: and and and shot the s and Joey and his 50 00:02:49,919 --> 00:02:52,840 Speaker 1: mom were on there from Tucson, and Joey said, why 51 00:02:52,840 --> 00:02:56,040 Speaker 1: don't you do one on ants? And I said, all right, Joey, 52 00:02:56,080 --> 00:02:58,200 Speaker 1: we'll do one on ants. Yeah, and that's gonna be 53 00:02:58,200 --> 00:03:00,000 Speaker 1: a good one because joe is gonna get his money's 54 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:03,120 Speaker 1: worth on this. But we're doing Joey, not just one 55 00:03:03,400 --> 00:03:06,320 Speaker 1: part on ants. We're doing a two parter on ants. 56 00:03:06,360 --> 00:03:11,280 Speaker 1: That's how cool they are. It's a doublet because you 57 00:03:11,320 --> 00:03:15,360 Speaker 1: know ants, like you said, we could do a four parter. Yeah. 58 00:03:15,400 --> 00:03:17,880 Speaker 1: So just to kind of start like people I think 59 00:03:17,880 --> 00:03:21,160 Speaker 1: can very easily take ants for granted, they're very small. Uh, 60 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:23,480 Speaker 1: they kind of typically mind their own business unless you 61 00:03:23,480 --> 00:03:25,600 Speaker 1: step in one of their nests, and there they happen 62 00:03:25,680 --> 00:03:30,160 Speaker 1: to be um uh imported red fire ants um which 63 00:03:30,280 --> 00:03:32,839 Speaker 1: you do not want to mess with UM. So they're 64 00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:34,880 Speaker 1: just kind of easy to overlook. But when you start 65 00:03:34,920 --> 00:03:37,320 Speaker 1: to kind of dig into things like the number of 66 00:03:37,360 --> 00:03:40,640 Speaker 1: ants on Earth or the kind of things they're responsible 67 00:03:40,640 --> 00:03:43,680 Speaker 1: for on Earth, you come to realize, like, ants actually 68 00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:50,280 Speaker 1: pretty much dominate the terrestrial ecosystems everywhere. They're apparently found 69 00:03:50,280 --> 00:03:56,440 Speaker 1: everywhere except for Antarctica. Despite the name. Uh yeah, they're 70 00:03:56,520 --> 00:03:59,640 Speaker 1: very hearty little creatures. They're a hundred and thirty million 71 00:03:59,720 --> 00:04:03,440 Speaker 1: years old from the Cretaceous period, so they actually survived 72 00:04:03,440 --> 00:04:08,640 Speaker 1: the Cretaceous tertiary extinction event, and you know, they've been 73 00:04:08,680 --> 00:04:11,120 Speaker 1: around forever. They will be around forever. Some parts of 74 00:04:11,160 --> 00:04:14,160 Speaker 1: the world they make up about half and this is 75 00:04:14,200 --> 00:04:17,240 Speaker 1: places where there are lots and lots of insects, and 76 00:04:17,279 --> 00:04:20,719 Speaker 1: they make up in some places half of the insects. Wow. 77 00:04:21,279 --> 00:04:23,080 Speaker 1: So like, if you just took all the insects in 78 00:04:23,120 --> 00:04:26,080 Speaker 1: one ecosystem and spread them all out, half of them 79 00:04:26,080 --> 00:04:28,960 Speaker 1: would be ants. Half of them would be ants. Don't 80 00:04:28,960 --> 00:04:31,400 Speaker 1: step on them. We said it before. Don't kick over 81 00:04:31,400 --> 00:04:35,760 Speaker 1: those ant hills. Kids, don't torch them with with lighters 82 00:04:35,760 --> 00:04:40,120 Speaker 1: and hairspray cans. You need to leave those ant hills alone, right. 83 00:04:40,800 --> 00:04:43,560 Speaker 1: One other surprising thing about their evolutionary history that I 84 00:04:43,720 --> 00:04:47,279 Speaker 1: was not hipp too until recently is that ants are 85 00:04:47,440 --> 00:04:51,360 Speaker 1: um closely related to wasps. In fact, they think that 86 00:04:51,400 --> 00:04:55,360 Speaker 1: they are evolved from wasps. Uh. And their closest one 87 00:04:55,400 --> 00:04:59,159 Speaker 1: of their closest relatives is the mud Dauber wasp. Yeah. 88 00:04:59,160 --> 00:05:00,720 Speaker 1: I mean, if you look at the wasp, but it 89 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:04,360 Speaker 1: sort of looks like a intimidating flying ant. And ants 90 00:05:04,440 --> 00:05:07,480 Speaker 1: have stingers. A lot of them have venom, so I mean, 91 00:05:07,520 --> 00:05:10,839 Speaker 1: it's not like you just couldn't possibly, you know, accept 92 00:05:10,920 --> 00:05:14,520 Speaker 1: that fact. That's right. Uh. And that is a bit 93 00:05:14,560 --> 00:05:17,280 Speaker 1: of a misnomer because I still say bitten by an aunt, 94 00:05:17,440 --> 00:05:20,280 Speaker 1: I got an ant bite, But that's not what's going on. 95 00:05:20,320 --> 00:05:23,960 Speaker 1: You're actually getting stung. Uh. The stinger on an ant 96 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:28,240 Speaker 1: a is a is a modified ovipositor. And the little 97 00:05:28,279 --> 00:05:30,120 Speaker 1: worker ants we're gonna talk all about this later, but 98 00:05:30,160 --> 00:05:33,960 Speaker 1: worker ants are sterile females. They can't produce eggs, so 99 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:38,440 Speaker 1: they're ovipositors or stingers, and the male ants don't have 100 00:05:38,560 --> 00:05:41,120 Speaker 1: stingers and as you'll see, like if you're at all 101 00:05:41,160 --> 00:05:44,440 Speaker 1: familiar with our b episode or a WASPS episode, like, 102 00:05:44,480 --> 00:05:46,640 Speaker 1: a lot of this stuff is gonna seem really familiar 103 00:05:46,720 --> 00:05:49,760 Speaker 1: again because their ants are kind of pretty closely related 104 00:05:49,800 --> 00:05:52,400 Speaker 1: to those things. They're in the same um, the same 105 00:05:52,560 --> 00:05:56,279 Speaker 1: order hyman up tera as we'll see. But they do 106 00:05:56,360 --> 00:05:58,800 Speaker 1: all sorts of amazing things that we're gonna get into 107 00:05:58,839 --> 00:06:02,280 Speaker 1: all of this. But are uh. They turn the soil, 108 00:06:02,480 --> 00:06:07,360 Speaker 1: they move um uh materials and energy up and down underground. 109 00:06:07,400 --> 00:06:10,320 Speaker 1: They turn over more soil than the earthworm. Um. They're 110 00:06:10,480 --> 00:06:14,839 Speaker 1: extremely important little animals running around on Earth. So the 111 00:06:14,880 --> 00:06:17,000 Speaker 1: next time you see an aunt, especially after you hear 112 00:06:17,040 --> 00:06:20,640 Speaker 1: these two episodes, hopefully you'll salute them or at least 113 00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:22,880 Speaker 1: step over them or do something to to show a 114 00:06:22,960 --> 00:06:27,480 Speaker 1: little bit of respect. How many ants are there, so, 115 00:06:27,640 --> 00:06:32,039 Speaker 1: I've seen the one that can Ruse. Dave Ruse helped 116 00:06:32,080 --> 00:06:34,320 Speaker 1: us out with this one. The number he came up with, 117 00:06:34,360 --> 00:06:38,159 Speaker 1: I've seen pretty much almost everywhere, which is something on 118 00:06:38,200 --> 00:06:41,719 Speaker 1: the order of ten to the fifteen power adult ants 119 00:06:41,960 --> 00:06:46,400 Speaker 1: on Earth right now, So about a quadrillion, which is 120 00:06:46,600 --> 00:06:49,120 Speaker 1: it's not just a number of four year old says, no, 121 00:06:49,240 --> 00:06:52,640 Speaker 1: it's a thousand trillion to be precise, which is that 122 00:06:52,680 --> 00:06:55,000 Speaker 1: sounds more like a number than a four year old says, right, 123 00:06:55,200 --> 00:06:57,720 Speaker 1: if you, if you, I mean, if you think about it, Um, 124 00:06:57,760 --> 00:07:00,400 Speaker 1: how many humans are we do we have on right now? 125 00:07:00,400 --> 00:07:04,520 Speaker 1: Something like seven eight billion? I believe sure this is 126 00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:08,640 Speaker 1: a thousand trillion ants. And there's a lot of debate also, 127 00:07:08,720 --> 00:07:13,000 Speaker 1: chuck about which one weighs more calculating the bio mat 128 00:07:13,520 --> 00:07:15,480 Speaker 1: It's all over the place. One of the one of 129 00:07:15,520 --> 00:07:18,800 Speaker 1: the figures I've seen bandied about is that ants, if you, 130 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:22,559 Speaker 1: if you wait everything, every living thing on Earth, ants 131 00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:26,320 Speaker 1: would make up somewhere between fifteen to of that weight, 132 00:07:26,360 --> 00:07:29,000 Speaker 1: which is a lot. But a lot of people say, well, 133 00:07:29,040 --> 00:07:32,880 Speaker 1: that's that just completely dwarfs how the biomass of humans. 134 00:07:32,880 --> 00:07:35,560 Speaker 1: And that's not necessarily true, so it's kind of up 135 00:07:35,560 --> 00:07:37,760 Speaker 1: in the air. Yeah, let's put it this way. If 136 00:07:37,800 --> 00:07:40,640 Speaker 1: all of the ants got together and they decided they 137 00:07:40,640 --> 00:07:44,480 Speaker 1: wanted to go to war with humanity, it would be 138 00:07:44,520 --> 00:07:46,760 Speaker 1: a pretty intimidating fight. I'm not sure who would win, 139 00:07:47,600 --> 00:07:52,400 Speaker 1: but humans would probably lay wasted themselves to to lay 140 00:07:52,400 --> 00:07:54,560 Speaker 1: wasted the ants, you know what I mean? Well, yeah, 141 00:07:54,600 --> 00:07:58,040 Speaker 1: and also I mean some ants especially those red fire ants. 142 00:07:58,120 --> 00:08:01,760 Speaker 1: They eat flesh like its are not all just herbivores, 143 00:08:01,880 --> 00:08:05,000 Speaker 1: they're they're generally omnivores, which means that they'll eat eat 144 00:08:05,040 --> 00:08:07,680 Speaker 1: flesh as well, which means they'll eat human flesh if 145 00:08:07,720 --> 00:08:11,440 Speaker 1: you'll stand still long enough and let them devour you. 146 00:08:11,440 --> 00:08:13,760 Speaker 1: You know what's that fire ant? They can strip a 147 00:08:13,800 --> 00:08:20,000 Speaker 1: frog in twelve hours to the bone to the bone. Yeah, 148 00:08:20,040 --> 00:08:24,200 Speaker 1: it's pretty amazing. So the thing we have going for us, 149 00:08:24,240 --> 00:08:26,280 Speaker 1: our legs are much longer than an ant's leg so 150 00:08:26,320 --> 00:08:28,520 Speaker 1: we can outrun them very quickly and just get away 151 00:08:28,560 --> 00:08:30,480 Speaker 1: from an ant, and then by the time we're out 152 00:08:30,480 --> 00:08:35,160 Speaker 1: of it's it's per view, it forgot we ever existed, probably, right, 153 00:08:35,280 --> 00:08:39,960 Speaker 1: unless there's another colony of three million ants waiting for you. Yeah, 154 00:08:40,400 --> 00:08:42,520 Speaker 1: the other side, depending on what part of Europe you're 155 00:08:42,559 --> 00:08:45,800 Speaker 1: in there very well, maybe too, as we'll see. Right, 156 00:08:45,840 --> 00:08:47,439 Speaker 1: So we're gonna you know, this is gonna follow the 157 00:08:47,559 --> 00:08:51,439 Speaker 1: order of kind of our usual animally insect the episodes, 158 00:08:51,520 --> 00:08:53,440 Speaker 1: except I think this one's going to have even more 159 00:08:54,240 --> 00:08:58,320 Speaker 1: just sort of random amazing facts and started along the way, right, Yeah, 160 00:08:58,600 --> 00:09:01,720 Speaker 1: I don't think we'll be able to help it, alright, 161 00:09:01,760 --> 00:09:03,960 Speaker 1: So I guess let's talk. I mean, let's go ahead 162 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:06,360 Speaker 1: and start off with some of these amazing ant things. 163 00:09:07,160 --> 00:09:12,440 Speaker 1: If you study ants, you're a a mermacologist. And it 164 00:09:12,440 --> 00:09:14,360 Speaker 1: feels like we've said that recently, but I think I 165 00:09:14,440 --> 00:09:17,080 Speaker 1: might be thinking of something else. Dude, thinking of Eugene Mermon, 166 00:09:18,120 --> 00:09:22,240 Speaker 1: That's what I'm thinking. Oh man, I love that guy. Yeah, 167 00:09:22,240 --> 00:09:25,120 Speaker 1: he's a very lovable guy. What a good dude. I'm 168 00:09:25,160 --> 00:09:29,480 Speaker 1: so glad of his Bob's Burger's success. It couldn't happen 169 00:09:29,480 --> 00:09:32,680 Speaker 1: to do a nicer guy. But he's not an ant specialist. Uh, 170 00:09:32,840 --> 00:09:36,960 Speaker 1: let's maybe let's just start off with these aunt rafts. Yeah. Well, 171 00:09:36,960 --> 00:09:39,120 Speaker 1: that's one of the amazing things that people have figured 172 00:09:39,160 --> 00:09:42,160 Speaker 1: out about ants is if you drop especially um red 173 00:09:42,280 --> 00:09:44,800 Speaker 1: imported fire ants. They're just called fire ants in their 174 00:09:44,880 --> 00:09:48,880 Speaker 1: native South America, but here in North America there they 175 00:09:48,920 --> 00:09:52,480 Speaker 1: really are honestly called red imported fire ants, and they 176 00:09:52,600 --> 00:09:55,360 Speaker 1: if you drop them into water as like a ball, 177 00:09:55,840 --> 00:10:00,920 Speaker 1: they'll spread out and they will flatten themselves into a 178 00:10:01,040 --> 00:10:05,320 Speaker 1: raft that is actually a pretty great, well made raft. 179 00:10:05,400 --> 00:10:08,600 Speaker 1: And they do this, um just kind of without even 180 00:10:08,600 --> 00:10:12,160 Speaker 1: thinking about it. Yeah. So, I mean, these things can 181 00:10:12,240 --> 00:10:13,960 Speaker 1: be large they can be about as big as a 182 00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:18,040 Speaker 1: dinner plate. We're talking hundreds of thousands of ants. And 183 00:10:18,160 --> 00:10:21,040 Speaker 1: what they've learned. There was this researcher in particular at 184 00:10:21,040 --> 00:10:23,679 Speaker 1: Georgia Tech that you dug up, I mean not literally 185 00:10:23,760 --> 00:10:25,319 Speaker 1: dug up. He well, yeah, he was dead when I 186 00:10:25,400 --> 00:10:30,720 Speaker 1: meant reanimated him. Uh and said Mr David, who what 187 00:10:30,760 --> 00:10:33,560 Speaker 1: do you have to say? Uh? So he I think 188 00:10:33,559 --> 00:10:37,200 Speaker 1: he's from Georgia Tech. And he focused on these rafts 189 00:10:37,200 --> 00:10:40,400 Speaker 1: because it's such an amazing thing. And what they learned, 190 00:10:40,520 --> 00:10:42,920 Speaker 1: or one of the things he learned, was that when 191 00:10:42,960 --> 00:10:47,120 Speaker 1: these ants are building out this raft, they're like basically 192 00:10:47,320 --> 00:10:49,920 Speaker 1: walking over the other ants until they get to the 193 00:10:50,080 --> 00:10:52,840 Speaker 1: edge and then they're like, oh, well, I guess you know, 194 00:10:52,880 --> 00:10:54,560 Speaker 1: they communicate to each other, and we'll get to how 195 00:10:54,559 --> 00:10:57,560 Speaker 1: they communicate later, but they communicate to each other only 196 00:10:57,559 --> 00:11:00,199 Speaker 1: when they get to that edge. Hey, you gotta get 197 00:11:00,240 --> 00:11:03,520 Speaker 1: down here with us and make this thing larger. Yeah. Yeah, 198 00:11:04,000 --> 00:11:08,720 Speaker 1: they and they basically weave themselves into an interlocking pattern 199 00:11:09,120 --> 00:11:12,559 Speaker 1: to where they lay down perpendicular to the the ant 200 00:11:12,640 --> 00:11:14,760 Speaker 1: that is the part of the edge of the raft. 201 00:11:14,760 --> 00:11:16,560 Speaker 1: Then and then they become the part of the raft. 202 00:11:16,600 --> 00:11:20,720 Speaker 1: Sticking out right, yeah, exactly, and they connect themselves to 203 00:11:20,760 --> 00:11:25,120 Speaker 1: their fellow ants with multi multiple places with their interlocking arms. 204 00:11:25,600 --> 00:11:28,640 Speaker 1: They also push away at the same time, which allows 205 00:11:28,640 --> 00:11:31,079 Speaker 1: a lot of air in there, and these rafts can 206 00:11:31,080 --> 00:11:35,319 Speaker 1: float because there's something like air. But the the weave 207 00:11:35,440 --> 00:11:39,080 Speaker 1: is also so tight that the raft is waterproof, so 208 00:11:39,160 --> 00:11:41,640 Speaker 1: that even the ants on the bottom of the raft chuck, 209 00:11:41,679 --> 00:11:45,200 Speaker 1: will survive when they eventually hit dry land. Again. Yeah, 210 00:11:45,200 --> 00:11:48,200 Speaker 1: I think they kind of likened it to gortex basically. Yeah, 211 00:11:49,080 --> 00:11:52,920 Speaker 1: so that is that is one thing that one species 212 00:11:52,960 --> 00:11:55,640 Speaker 1: of ants can do, and they do this. Here's the thing, 213 00:11:55,760 --> 00:11:58,360 Speaker 1: Like you might say, well, that's really neat, that's amazing. 214 00:11:58,800 --> 00:12:01,840 Speaker 1: Ants don't have brains that can hold plans in their 215 00:12:01,840 --> 00:12:04,360 Speaker 1: heads like you and I do. Like, they can't read 216 00:12:04,400 --> 00:12:07,480 Speaker 1: a schematic. There's no schematics there for them. And in fact, 217 00:12:07,800 --> 00:12:11,000 Speaker 1: ants don't even technically have a leader. They just all 218 00:12:11,200 --> 00:12:15,640 Speaker 1: do these jobs and perform this work somehow we humans 219 00:12:15,640 --> 00:12:18,199 Speaker 1: have still yet to figure it out. But as each 220 00:12:18,280 --> 00:12:21,959 Speaker 1: little ant performs its own job, and you've got hundreds 221 00:12:21,960 --> 00:12:24,040 Speaker 1: of thousands of millions of ants all doing this job 222 00:12:24,080 --> 00:12:28,040 Speaker 1: following the same system, these really amazing larger and more 223 00:12:28,120 --> 00:12:31,400 Speaker 1: complex patterns emerge, and that's how you get things like 224 00:12:31,440 --> 00:12:33,959 Speaker 1: ant colonies and aunt rafts. And they do it again 225 00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:35,920 Speaker 1: without a leader and without a brain that could hold 226 00:12:35,920 --> 00:12:38,760 Speaker 1: a plan in their head. Yeah, I mean it's it's 227 00:12:38,760 --> 00:12:42,400 Speaker 1: a hundred and thirty million years of hard coding basically. 228 00:12:42,640 --> 00:12:45,360 Speaker 1: Like it makes me wonder if a hundred and thirty 229 00:12:45,400 --> 00:12:48,400 Speaker 1: million years ago, the ants we're like lucky to survive 230 00:12:48,880 --> 00:12:51,960 Speaker 1: that tertiary extinction, and we're like, we gotta get our 231 00:12:51,960 --> 00:12:54,040 Speaker 1: act together, guys. Yeah, we need to figure out how 232 00:12:54,080 --> 00:12:56,719 Speaker 1: to make rafts quick. We can't make rafts. We can't 233 00:12:56,760 --> 00:13:00,079 Speaker 1: do anything. Um Ants individually can swim some speech he 234 00:13:00,160 --> 00:13:03,120 Speaker 1: s can uh, they basically I mean they can float 235 00:13:03,160 --> 00:13:06,079 Speaker 1: and they basically do like a little ant paddle. They 236 00:13:06,120 --> 00:13:07,720 Speaker 1: like him to do a dog paddle. I don't think 237 00:13:07,720 --> 00:13:10,360 Speaker 1: they can swim like great distances. But if an ant, 238 00:13:10,760 --> 00:13:13,560 Speaker 1: if some species of ant happened to accidentally fall into water, 239 00:13:13,920 --> 00:13:16,960 Speaker 1: it's not necessarily the end of them. They're not a goner. 240 00:13:17,120 --> 00:13:21,319 Speaker 1: They don't need to be reanimated yet they don't. Should 241 00:13:21,320 --> 00:13:24,199 Speaker 1: we take a break already? Yeah? I think we can. 242 00:13:24,280 --> 00:13:25,640 Speaker 1: I mean it's a two part or we can do 243 00:13:25,679 --> 00:13:29,120 Speaker 1: whatever we want. All right, we'll take a break and 244 00:13:29,160 --> 00:13:56,000 Speaker 1: we'll talk about not rafts, but bridges right after this. Okay, Chuck, 245 00:13:56,040 --> 00:13:59,080 Speaker 1: you teased bridges. What about bridges? What do what do 246 00:13:59,160 --> 00:14:02,520 Speaker 1: bridges have to do with ants? Well, I mean, first 247 00:14:02,559 --> 00:14:04,160 Speaker 1: of all, all this stuff you should you should look 248 00:14:04,240 --> 00:14:07,800 Speaker 1: up images and videos of when you can, because talking 249 00:14:07,800 --> 00:14:09,320 Speaker 1: about it is one thing. But when you really see 250 00:14:09,320 --> 00:14:12,319 Speaker 1: this stuff happening, when you see an ant raft or 251 00:14:12,320 --> 00:14:16,520 Speaker 1: an ant bridge, it's pretty remarkable. Um. But army ants. 252 00:14:16,559 --> 00:14:18,199 Speaker 1: There in a species of ant that we're going to 253 00:14:18,320 --> 00:14:22,280 Speaker 1: talk more about as well later. But they are nomadic. Um. 254 00:14:22,360 --> 00:14:24,200 Speaker 1: Usually ants kind of route down in one place, but 255 00:14:24,320 --> 00:14:27,360 Speaker 1: these ants like to travel. And when they're traveling through 256 00:14:27,400 --> 00:14:31,040 Speaker 1: the forest, if they come across uh, if they're like 257 00:14:31,120 --> 00:14:34,120 Speaker 1: walking up a leaf and then they want to get 258 00:14:34,120 --> 00:14:37,040 Speaker 1: across to another leaf, they will form a little almost 259 00:14:37,080 --> 00:14:40,000 Speaker 1: at human bridge, they form a little ant bridge all 260 00:14:40,040 --> 00:14:43,560 Speaker 1: the way across and can support you know, it's just 261 00:14:43,640 --> 00:14:46,400 Speaker 1: tens of centimeters, which doesn't sound like much, but when 262 00:14:46,400 --> 00:14:49,440 Speaker 1: you're an aunt, it's it's remarkable. Yeah, So there's something 263 00:14:49,480 --> 00:14:52,360 Speaker 1: going on here. You you'll start to notice like there's 264 00:14:52,400 --> 00:14:55,520 Speaker 1: something about an ant when it says Okay, I'm coming. 265 00:14:55,600 --> 00:14:57,560 Speaker 1: I'm in water, and I'm on a ball of other 266 00:14:57,600 --> 00:15:00,000 Speaker 1: ants in water. Now that I've reached the edge of water, 267 00:15:00,040 --> 00:15:02,240 Speaker 1: or I need to interlock with my partner. Same thing 268 00:15:02,280 --> 00:15:04,080 Speaker 1: when they reach it an end in the road, a 269 00:15:04,160 --> 00:15:07,120 Speaker 1: gap between the road or the bridge or whatever they're 270 00:15:07,160 --> 00:15:09,800 Speaker 1: walking on, they have some sort of encoded instinct to 271 00:15:10,240 --> 00:15:13,120 Speaker 1: lay down and interlock with whoever's part of the bridge 272 00:15:13,160 --> 00:15:15,640 Speaker 1: behind them to form their own part of their bridge. 273 00:15:15,720 --> 00:15:17,880 Speaker 1: And then even more astounding than that kind of behavior 274 00:15:18,160 --> 00:15:20,840 Speaker 1: is the fact that they can support the weight of 275 00:15:21,240 --> 00:15:24,560 Speaker 1: the ants crawling over them, using them as a bridge, 276 00:15:24,560 --> 00:15:27,520 Speaker 1: and then once the traffic dies down, they climb back 277 00:15:27,600 --> 00:15:31,000 Speaker 1: up like in the opposite direction, they disassemble the bridge 278 00:15:31,120 --> 00:15:33,840 Speaker 1: on the other way and then go along their merry 279 00:15:33,840 --> 00:15:38,200 Speaker 1: way on the forest floor. Yeah, that's when they say 280 00:15:38,240 --> 00:15:42,280 Speaker 1: socialism doesn't work. Um, but I was wondering how they 281 00:15:43,200 --> 00:15:47,160 Speaker 1: So I saw an aunt bridge spanning between two leaves, 282 00:15:47,240 --> 00:15:50,680 Speaker 1: so it was off the ground. Uh, how does it? 283 00:15:51,360 --> 00:15:53,080 Speaker 1: And the only thing I could figure like, how does it? 284 00:15:53,360 --> 00:15:54,920 Speaker 1: How did the how do they all get across to 285 00:15:54,960 --> 00:15:58,080 Speaker 1: the other side at the end of this whole thing? 286 00:15:58,240 --> 00:16:00,600 Speaker 1: I don't I don't know. I don't because you think 287 00:16:00,640 --> 00:16:02,360 Speaker 1: it'd be like one of those rope bridges where you 288 00:16:02,400 --> 00:16:05,400 Speaker 1: cut one in and it goes right. Well, I think 289 00:16:05,480 --> 00:16:08,200 Speaker 1: that might be what happens. But I mean, this is 290 00:16:08,240 --> 00:16:10,240 Speaker 1: just a guess, but I have a feeling at the 291 00:16:10,360 --> 00:16:13,160 Speaker 1: end of that bridge they all just go really fast 292 00:16:13,880 --> 00:16:17,000 Speaker 1: as after it disattaches to get to And if they're 293 00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:20,040 Speaker 1: strong enough to hold each other across the span, then 294 00:16:20,200 --> 00:16:22,640 Speaker 1: I guess they're strong enough to hold that last you know, 295 00:16:22,760 --> 00:16:25,880 Speaker 1: a few centimeters as it dangles. Right. Yeah, they seem 296 00:16:25,960 --> 00:16:32,280 Speaker 1: to make like preternaturally intelligent use of things like physics 297 00:16:32,280 --> 00:16:36,160 Speaker 1: and enforces and loads and all sorts of stuff, um 298 00:16:36,280 --> 00:16:38,760 Speaker 1: and And to be honest, like, I don't feel like 299 00:16:38,800 --> 00:16:41,080 Speaker 1: a jackass for not knowing the answer to what you're saying, 300 00:16:41,360 --> 00:16:45,240 Speaker 1: because we do not understand ants very well. It's more 301 00:16:45,320 --> 00:16:48,440 Speaker 1: like we're we humans are in the the g whiz 302 00:16:48,520 --> 00:16:52,200 Speaker 1: phase of studying ants, like we can't we can see 303 00:16:52,240 --> 00:16:54,480 Speaker 1: what they're doing, but we can't really explain how they're 304 00:16:54,480 --> 00:16:56,680 Speaker 1: doing it in a lot of cases, which makes them 305 00:16:56,680 --> 00:17:00,800 Speaker 1: even more fascinating to me. But but Chuck, I suspect 306 00:17:00,880 --> 00:17:05,240 Speaker 1: and once we fully understand ants, it will revolutionize our 307 00:17:05,280 --> 00:17:07,280 Speaker 1: own behavior and the way that we see the world, 308 00:17:07,280 --> 00:17:09,240 Speaker 1: in the way that we act ourselves, because we're gonna 309 00:17:09,320 --> 00:17:12,320 Speaker 1: learn a lot from them. Oh yeah, but the problem 310 00:17:12,440 --> 00:17:15,439 Speaker 1: is humans don't won't work together like that, because ants 311 00:17:15,440 --> 00:17:19,320 Speaker 1: are a selfless society that works in concert to accomplish 312 00:17:19,359 --> 00:17:21,760 Speaker 1: a greater goal. Maybe we'll figure out how to use 313 00:17:21,800 --> 00:17:25,920 Speaker 1: them to like more efficiently deliver packages from e commerce 314 00:17:25,960 --> 00:17:29,800 Speaker 1: for us. Right, that's not flying them and dropping them 315 00:17:29,800 --> 00:17:34,080 Speaker 1: from a drone, even more efficient than that. All right, 316 00:17:34,119 --> 00:17:36,080 Speaker 1: So that's that's just a bit of a tease of 317 00:17:36,160 --> 00:17:38,840 Speaker 1: some of the amazing things some species of ants can do. 318 00:17:39,520 --> 00:17:40,879 Speaker 1: I think we need to get down to kind of 319 00:17:40,920 --> 00:17:43,800 Speaker 1: the basics, uh, like we do with all of our 320 00:17:43,840 --> 00:17:47,200 Speaker 1: insect friends and animal friends, and just talk about the 321 00:17:47,560 --> 00:17:51,400 Speaker 1: makeup of these little guys. Yeah, so their insects, like 322 00:17:51,400 --> 00:17:55,040 Speaker 1: like I said earlier, there from the order him up terra. 323 00:17:55,720 --> 00:17:59,679 Speaker 1: So there's bees, wasps, ants, they're all pretty much in 324 00:17:59,680 --> 00:18:03,359 Speaker 1: the same little group right there. But there's at least 325 00:18:03,359 --> 00:18:08,720 Speaker 1: ten thousand species of ants. Apparently, some botanists, not botanists 326 00:18:08,760 --> 00:18:11,640 Speaker 1: who don't know what they're talking about, we'll say fourteen thousand, 327 00:18:11,880 --> 00:18:14,359 Speaker 1: and then some anomalogists will say Yeah, the botanist was right. 328 00:18:14,440 --> 00:18:16,920 Speaker 1: Fourteen thousand is how many species of ants there are. 329 00:18:17,320 --> 00:18:19,800 Speaker 1: Botanists are like, why they keep cutting my leaves? Yeah, 330 00:18:20,080 --> 00:18:22,560 Speaker 1: can you please ask your aunts to stop doing that? 331 00:18:22,560 --> 00:18:26,399 Speaker 1: That's what the botanists say. Uh. If we're talking, and again, 332 00:18:26,440 --> 00:18:28,760 Speaker 1: you know, since we're not starting our own side podcast 333 00:18:28,800 --> 00:18:31,879 Speaker 1: all about ants, we're gonna talk about a few different species. 334 00:18:32,080 --> 00:18:35,760 Speaker 1: Aunt rant, by the way, aunt Rant not in rhnd 335 00:18:37,760 --> 00:18:41,359 Speaker 1: aunt Rant featuring the works of vine Rand instead of 336 00:18:41,400 --> 00:18:45,919 Speaker 1: listener male, who is the opposite of ants actually, But 337 00:18:45,960 --> 00:18:48,320 Speaker 1: we're gonna talk about the main ones you might find 338 00:18:48,320 --> 00:18:52,280 Speaker 1: here in North America. One of course, is the odorous 339 00:18:52,280 --> 00:18:54,919 Speaker 1: house aunt a k a. The sugar ant or the 340 00:18:54,920 --> 00:18:59,679 Speaker 1: coconut ant. These are you know, I love ants, but 341 00:18:59,720 --> 00:19:07,120 Speaker 1: these the problem uh ants in my life occasionally. Yeah, 342 00:19:07,160 --> 00:19:09,240 Speaker 1: these are the little black ants that you know, if 343 00:19:09,280 --> 00:19:12,600 Speaker 1: you have something out on your counter, can come into 344 00:19:12,640 --> 00:19:15,200 Speaker 1: your house and a nice little single file line and 345 00:19:15,240 --> 00:19:17,840 Speaker 1: we'll talk about those lines later, and they will eat 346 00:19:17,880 --> 00:19:20,239 Speaker 1: whatever you have sitting out on the counter, if it's 347 00:19:20,280 --> 00:19:24,800 Speaker 1: a little crumb of a twinkie, which makes me really 348 00:19:24,840 --> 00:19:26,119 Speaker 1: want to eat a twinkie. I haven't done that in 349 00:19:26,240 --> 00:19:28,959 Speaker 1: year's probably since our Twinky episodes, but it will. They 350 00:19:28,960 --> 00:19:31,480 Speaker 1: will send a lot of ants after it. Uh. And 351 00:19:31,840 --> 00:19:35,399 Speaker 1: they they're called odorous because apparently I've never really noticed 352 00:19:35,400 --> 00:19:37,679 Speaker 1: a smell. But if you kill them, they smell like 353 00:19:37,680 --> 00:19:40,520 Speaker 1: a rotten coconut or like a blue cheesy odor. Yeah, 354 00:19:40,560 --> 00:19:43,199 Speaker 1: and I'm like, rotten coconut doesn't help at all, Like 355 00:19:43,320 --> 00:19:46,480 Speaker 1: I don't understand when the rotten coconut smells like blue cheese. 356 00:19:46,520 --> 00:19:49,639 Speaker 1: I understand more that I get that's not a good smell. 357 00:19:49,680 --> 00:19:52,760 Speaker 1: But I have never ever smelled an ant that smelled 358 00:19:52,800 --> 00:19:56,240 Speaker 1: like blue cheese or even rotten coconut. I haven't either, 359 00:19:56,440 --> 00:19:58,679 Speaker 1: and I try not to kill any ants, but uh, 360 00:19:59,359 --> 00:20:03,200 Speaker 1: invading uh, sugar ants can be a problem. Yes, sugar ants, 361 00:20:03,200 --> 00:20:05,120 Speaker 1: That's what I've always heard them called too, So that's 362 00:20:05,160 --> 00:20:07,200 Speaker 1: the odorous house aunt is the same thing as a 363 00:20:07,240 --> 00:20:10,959 Speaker 1: sugar ant. Yeah right, okay, because we don't We're not 364 00:20:11,080 --> 00:20:13,840 Speaker 1: like very bourgeois. We keep our sugar just on a 365 00:20:13,880 --> 00:20:16,080 Speaker 1: mound on the kitchen counter. And we have a big 366 00:20:16,119 --> 00:20:21,280 Speaker 1: problem with those ants too. Yeah. What about your next favorite, 367 00:20:21,320 --> 00:20:26,080 Speaker 1: the pavement aunt? Uh? Yeah, the malcolmus Uh, the stand 368 00:20:26,119 --> 00:20:31,920 Speaker 1: of viches? Right? If only um, they are the ones 369 00:20:31,960 --> 00:20:36,320 Speaker 1: that you find like on the sidewalk, mainly maybe under rocks. 370 00:20:37,040 --> 00:20:38,800 Speaker 1: And I don't think there are a whole lot different 371 00:20:38,840 --> 00:20:43,240 Speaker 1: than the odorous house aunt are they I honestly don't know. 372 00:20:43,359 --> 00:20:45,520 Speaker 1: I think maybe they don't come in your house. They're 373 00:20:45,520 --> 00:20:48,360 Speaker 1: more like they just hang out outside on the sidewalk. 374 00:20:48,720 --> 00:20:55,040 Speaker 1: You know, Yes, I like that, Babs. Yeah, I think 375 00:20:55,160 --> 00:20:57,800 Speaker 1: I think what the describes is like where, Yeah, where 376 00:20:57,800 --> 00:21:00,359 Speaker 1: you'll find them like understones and sidewalks and all. Because 377 00:21:00,359 --> 00:21:02,480 Speaker 1: a lot of ants, like more than just the payment ant, 378 00:21:02,520 --> 00:21:05,080 Speaker 1: make their nest under concrete. I'm not sure why, maybe 379 00:21:05,119 --> 00:21:07,920 Speaker 1: just for protection or whatever from the elements, but there 380 00:21:07,920 --> 00:21:11,160 Speaker 1: are plenty of ants that that seem to appreciate concrete 381 00:21:11,160 --> 00:21:16,760 Speaker 1: slabs and for nesting. You got your carpenter ant, which 382 00:21:16,760 --> 00:21:20,480 Speaker 1: are those big daddies. Uh, they will bore into wood. 383 00:21:21,880 --> 00:21:23,879 Speaker 1: I don't know if there is a bigger problem as termites. 384 00:21:24,119 --> 00:21:27,160 Speaker 1: I haven't really found them to be in mind own life. 385 00:21:27,200 --> 00:21:30,080 Speaker 1: But yeah, no, those are the ones I grew up with. 386 00:21:30,280 --> 00:21:36,000 Speaker 1: They're like there's yes, they're enormous ants, but they're almost 387 00:21:36,040 --> 00:21:39,080 Speaker 1: like friendly, like they do not they don't sting you. 388 00:21:39,240 --> 00:21:40,760 Speaker 1: I think they might be a sting or list. They're 389 00:21:40,800 --> 00:21:43,680 Speaker 1: they're certainly not venomous. They'll like crawl on your finger 390 00:21:43,800 --> 00:21:46,520 Speaker 1: and just kind of explore and you almost can make 391 00:21:46,560 --> 00:21:50,119 Speaker 1: friends with them. Weirdly, but they're they're the friendliest ants 392 00:21:50,119 --> 00:21:52,800 Speaker 1: I've ever encountered. Yeah, I'll do that. If I see 393 00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:55,080 Speaker 1: a carpenter ant, I'll put my finger down and see 394 00:21:55,080 --> 00:21:56,720 Speaker 1: if it wants to come up and say. You know, 395 00:21:56,800 --> 00:21:59,360 Speaker 1: I've never seen one down here. I've only I've only 396 00:21:59,359 --> 00:22:00,879 Speaker 1: seen them in no I Oh, I didn't even know 397 00:22:00,920 --> 00:22:05,320 Speaker 1: they were down here. Oh oh yeah, we got carpenter ants. 398 00:22:05,359 --> 00:22:07,359 Speaker 1: So once I did know we're down here, I found 399 00:22:07,359 --> 00:22:10,320 Speaker 1: out the hard way. Um, right after we moved down here, 400 00:22:10,359 --> 00:22:13,000 Speaker 1: I realized that I was standing in a pile of 401 00:22:13,119 --> 00:22:17,240 Speaker 1: carpiner ants. And um, that was my introduction to them, 402 00:22:17,280 --> 00:22:19,600 Speaker 1: like maybe a month or two after we moved down 403 00:22:19,640 --> 00:22:22,720 Speaker 1: to the south. Oh no, no no carpenter ants or fire 404 00:22:22,800 --> 00:22:25,480 Speaker 1: fire ants. Did I say carpenter Yeah yeah, No, no, 405 00:22:25,520 --> 00:22:29,639 Speaker 1: I mean fire ants. Yeah, those are no good. Um again, 406 00:22:29,960 --> 00:22:32,359 Speaker 1: I'm not gonna like try and kill their nest or 407 00:22:32,400 --> 00:22:36,960 Speaker 1: anything like that. You just avoid them. Basically, It's true. 408 00:22:37,480 --> 00:22:41,000 Speaker 1: It is true. It is true. That's that's true. But 409 00:22:41,080 --> 00:22:44,120 Speaker 1: like you say, if you happen to step on one um, 410 00:22:44,160 --> 00:22:46,159 Speaker 1: they can be pretty aggressive though. They'll come after me, 411 00:22:46,240 --> 00:22:49,000 Speaker 1: and they will, they'll just keep going after you. And 412 00:22:49,040 --> 00:22:52,320 Speaker 1: again it looks like they're biting you because it hurts 413 00:22:52,320 --> 00:22:55,640 Speaker 1: and it stings, and they're they're like they're biting their mandibles. 414 00:22:55,680 --> 00:22:58,359 Speaker 1: But you can't feel whatever bite they're giving you with 415 00:22:58,400 --> 00:23:01,240 Speaker 1: their mandibles because they're too small. That stinger that that's 416 00:23:01,280 --> 00:23:05,840 Speaker 1: getting you in the venom that they produce inside. That's right, 417 00:23:06,119 --> 00:23:09,600 Speaker 1: no good, very painful. Leave a little red bumps, yeah, 418 00:23:09,760 --> 00:23:12,360 Speaker 1: to say the least, and then the itch and and 419 00:23:12,400 --> 00:23:15,120 Speaker 1: then you can't help but scratch them and you scratch 420 00:23:15,280 --> 00:23:18,439 Speaker 1: whatever little welt grows up after them. It's you scratch 421 00:23:18,560 --> 00:23:21,080 Speaker 1: that off. It's not it's not good. Did you get 422 00:23:21,119 --> 00:23:24,040 Speaker 1: stung a lot when you when you were standing in one, yes, yeah, 423 00:23:24,200 --> 00:23:26,840 Speaker 1: yeah it was. It was really bad. Mama got the 424 00:23:26,880 --> 00:23:28,879 Speaker 1: same treatment to when she was a little puppy and 425 00:23:29,880 --> 00:23:32,920 Speaker 1: she made the worst sound of ever heard in my life. 426 00:23:33,440 --> 00:23:36,280 Speaker 1: And luckily you may had just done some research on 427 00:23:36,400 --> 00:23:39,880 Speaker 1: fire ants and found that if you um are ever 428 00:23:39,960 --> 00:23:44,000 Speaker 1: covered in fire ants, do not wash them off, because 429 00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:45,879 Speaker 1: I think those might be the kind that swim, but 430 00:23:45,960 --> 00:23:49,720 Speaker 1: also they that will make them clean even further to 431 00:23:49,960 --> 00:23:52,600 Speaker 1: whatever they can on your body. To stand there and 432 00:23:52,640 --> 00:23:54,680 Speaker 1: take the pain. You brush them off till they're done. 433 00:23:54,800 --> 00:23:58,399 Speaker 1: But yeah, right, exactly, just eat the pain, right, It 434 00:23:58,400 --> 00:24:00,880 Speaker 1: won't last long, but you brush them off with your hand. 435 00:24:00,960 --> 00:24:03,560 Speaker 1: Do not use water, because it actually makes them like 436 00:24:03,640 --> 00:24:05,360 Speaker 1: they It's one of those things where they're like, oh 437 00:24:05,440 --> 00:24:07,920 Speaker 1: doubts with water, hang on even tighter, like they're making 438 00:24:07,960 --> 00:24:10,480 Speaker 1: a raft with your leg, and then they're biding even worse. 439 00:24:10,760 --> 00:24:13,640 Speaker 1: So luckily you had told me that like a week before, 440 00:24:14,160 --> 00:24:16,639 Speaker 1: and my instinct I was walking MO near this pond. 441 00:24:16,800 --> 00:24:19,119 Speaker 1: My instinct was to basically just dunker in this pond 442 00:24:19,200 --> 00:24:21,119 Speaker 1: reils get a bunch of pond water on it to 443 00:24:21,240 --> 00:24:23,679 Speaker 1: rint it off. And I stopped myself and just brushed 444 00:24:23,720 --> 00:24:25,840 Speaker 1: them off. But it would have made it so much worse. 445 00:24:25,920 --> 00:24:29,720 Speaker 1: But um Mo doesn't like if iire ants either. Now 446 00:24:30,359 --> 00:24:32,600 Speaker 1: Mo probably doesn't like being tunked in a pond either. 447 00:24:33,600 --> 00:24:35,399 Speaker 1: Just like like on a nice walk, you were going 448 00:24:35,480 --> 00:24:39,800 Speaker 1: to do what to me when I was um I 449 00:24:39,800 --> 00:24:41,280 Speaker 1: guess we should talk about you know, we're gonna we 450 00:24:41,320 --> 00:24:43,119 Speaker 1: gotta talk about mouth parts. This part of stuff you 451 00:24:43,119 --> 00:24:45,800 Speaker 1: should know. Uh, so you gotta. If we're gonna talk 452 00:24:45,800 --> 00:24:48,639 Speaker 1: about the ants, body will go from the head backward. 453 00:24:49,600 --> 00:24:53,760 Speaker 1: The head has those two antennae and they you know, 454 00:24:53,760 --> 00:24:57,480 Speaker 1: we're gonna say things like smell and here with quotation marks, 455 00:24:57,520 --> 00:25:03,200 Speaker 1: with air quotes, scare quotes like air quotes. But that's 456 00:25:03,280 --> 00:25:05,520 Speaker 1: the antennae is what they used to smell, or their 457 00:25:05,600 --> 00:25:09,320 Speaker 1: version of smelling. Uh. And pheromones and stuff like that, 458 00:25:09,359 --> 00:25:11,480 Speaker 1: which we'll get to in greater detail later on. Yeah, 459 00:25:11,520 --> 00:25:14,680 Speaker 1: which seemed to be basically the way that they communicate. 460 00:25:14,680 --> 00:25:17,040 Speaker 1: They communicate a few other ways, which we'll talk about, 461 00:25:17,080 --> 00:25:20,720 Speaker 1: but those pheromones are aces as far as ant communication goes, 462 00:25:21,760 --> 00:25:24,639 Speaker 1: it's pretty cool. They also have um. Sometimes they'll have 463 00:25:24,760 --> 00:25:27,600 Speaker 1: multiple kinds of eyes. Some ants have compound eyes, which 464 00:25:27,600 --> 00:25:30,760 Speaker 1: have tons of different lenses and you know, the image 465 00:25:30,800 --> 00:25:33,840 Speaker 1: on each lens is kind of combined into an image 466 00:25:33,840 --> 00:25:36,640 Speaker 1: in the ant's brain. Or other ones have much more 467 00:25:36,680 --> 00:25:41,560 Speaker 1: simple eyes called ocelli roselli um, which are they just 468 00:25:41,600 --> 00:25:45,920 Speaker 1: basically sense light. And then some ants have both um. 469 00:25:46,080 --> 00:25:47,960 Speaker 1: But the ones who just have a celli are are 470 00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:50,399 Speaker 1: almost blind. But it don't feel bad for the ants 471 00:25:50,440 --> 00:25:53,919 Speaker 1: because they are they can sense other things like pheromones 472 00:25:53,960 --> 00:25:57,320 Speaker 1: with their antennae. That's right. Uh, We've talked about the 473 00:25:57,320 --> 00:25:59,520 Speaker 1: mandibles a little bit, but those are the little pincers 474 00:25:59,520 --> 00:26:02,879 Speaker 1: at the fry and uh boys, some of the mandibles 475 00:26:02,880 --> 00:26:06,120 Speaker 1: and some of these species of ant are really large 476 00:26:06,280 --> 00:26:10,440 Speaker 1: and scary looking. I can't remember which one, but I 477 00:26:10,480 --> 00:26:13,760 Speaker 1: saw one picture. It may have been the Australian one 478 00:26:13,800 --> 00:26:17,639 Speaker 1: that just will kill you, basically the bulldog ant. It 479 00:26:17,760 --> 00:26:19,840 Speaker 1: might have been the bulldog ant. Yes, I saw that 480 00:26:19,920 --> 00:26:23,959 Speaker 1: picture to where it actually uses its mandibles to clamp 481 00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:28,439 Speaker 1: onto at the same time it's stinging you two man, 482 00:26:28,760 --> 00:26:32,239 Speaker 1: and it has taken at least three lives um in 483 00:26:32,280 --> 00:26:36,880 Speaker 1: Australia that's been documented. The bulldog ant just another Australian 484 00:26:36,960 --> 00:26:38,800 Speaker 1: thing that can kill you. But so as bad as 485 00:26:38,840 --> 00:26:43,560 Speaker 1: the bulldog ant is, apparently the bullet ant is has 486 00:26:43,680 --> 00:26:47,159 Speaker 1: the worst sting, not just of any aunt, but of 487 00:26:47,240 --> 00:26:50,320 Speaker 1: anything you could possibly be stung by in the world. Now, 488 00:26:50,320 --> 00:26:53,080 Speaker 1: what's the deal with that one? I saw? So there's 489 00:26:53,080 --> 00:26:55,399 Speaker 1: something called the Schmidt pain scale that was developed by 490 00:26:55,440 --> 00:27:00,399 Speaker 1: a guy named Justin Schmidt, and he he sically just 491 00:27:00,520 --> 00:27:02,920 Speaker 1: let himself get stung and then rated it and described 492 00:27:02,920 --> 00:27:05,320 Speaker 1: this stuff that was that's what he did. We're gonna 493 00:27:05,359 --> 00:27:09,359 Speaker 1: do a short stuff on it someday, but he gave 494 00:27:09,560 --> 00:27:14,479 Speaker 1: he gave the bullet ant the UM level four rating 495 00:27:14,840 --> 00:27:17,560 Speaker 1: on his words, which is four which is the highest, 496 00:27:17,600 --> 00:27:20,480 Speaker 1: which as bad as it gets UM. But he's he 497 00:27:20,600 --> 00:27:23,840 Speaker 1: described it as like walking over flaming charcoal with a 498 00:27:23,920 --> 00:27:27,639 Speaker 1: three inch nail embedded in your heel. That's what a 499 00:27:27,680 --> 00:27:30,200 Speaker 1: bullet ant sting feels like. And it's apparently other people 500 00:27:30,240 --> 00:27:33,600 Speaker 1: who have. If you go on YouTube, like survivalists and 501 00:27:33,640 --> 00:27:36,359 Speaker 1: outdoor people, they will go get They'll find out, like, 502 00:27:36,440 --> 00:27:39,080 Speaker 1: what's the most painful sting you can get, and then 503 00:27:39,119 --> 00:27:42,000 Speaker 1: they'll go purposely get stung by it and then describe it. 504 00:27:42,000 --> 00:27:44,119 Speaker 1: It's kind of like people eating like ghost peppers on 505 00:27:44,160 --> 00:27:48,680 Speaker 1: YouTube videos, but with with insects and apparently um most 506 00:27:48,720 --> 00:27:51,480 Speaker 1: people who have been stung by a bullet ant agree 507 00:27:51,560 --> 00:27:55,119 Speaker 1: like that's it's as bad as it gets. Cheeze. I 508 00:27:55,240 --> 00:27:59,520 Speaker 1: found this one aunt uh. If we're talking mandibles, the 509 00:28:00,240 --> 00:28:03,440 Speaker 1: uh that's had supposedly has the fastest bite in the world, 510 00:28:04,600 --> 00:28:09,360 Speaker 1: the Latin American trap jaw ant, and it uses it's 511 00:28:09,400 --> 00:28:13,399 Speaker 1: mandible to jump. So if you look at videos. They 512 00:28:13,680 --> 00:28:15,879 Speaker 1: basically thought this is what was happening, but they weren't 513 00:28:15,920 --> 00:28:18,560 Speaker 1: sure because these things can really leap like, you know, 514 00:28:18,640 --> 00:28:21,840 Speaker 1: three or four inches across the room, and they filmed 515 00:28:21,840 --> 00:28:25,920 Speaker 1: it with a super SlowMo up close camera, and their 516 00:28:25,960 --> 00:28:29,920 Speaker 1: their bite is so fast. It accelerates a hundred thousand 517 00:28:29,920 --> 00:28:32,880 Speaker 1: times the force of gravity a hundred and forty five 518 00:28:32,920 --> 00:28:36,040 Speaker 1: miles per hour with a force equaling five d times 519 00:28:36,080 --> 00:28:38,880 Speaker 1: its body weight. So I think it just pinches down 520 00:28:39,360 --> 00:28:41,680 Speaker 1: in the ground so fast it shoots the ant back 521 00:28:41,760 --> 00:28:43,880 Speaker 1: out of harm's way or whatever. Okay, So that's what 522 00:28:43,960 --> 00:28:45,520 Speaker 1: I was trying to figure out. If it does like 523 00:28:45,560 --> 00:28:49,000 Speaker 1: a cartwheel or summer salt, so it bites and propels 524 00:28:49,000 --> 00:28:52,680 Speaker 1: itself backward. Yeah, and they they will somersault, I mean, 525 00:28:52,680 --> 00:28:54,600 Speaker 1: because I don't think they have control, like after they 526 00:28:55,040 --> 00:28:58,200 Speaker 1: there's so much force and speed, Like I saw SloMo 527 00:28:58,320 --> 00:29:00,240 Speaker 1: videos of them, Like if they're falling down in a 528 00:29:00,240 --> 00:29:04,240 Speaker 1: little hole in the sand or something, they'll snap that 529 00:29:04,360 --> 00:29:07,920 Speaker 1: jaw and they will just slow mo back flip like 530 00:29:08,080 --> 00:29:09,880 Speaker 1: four or five inches out of that thing. And it 531 00:29:09,920 --> 00:29:14,840 Speaker 1: makes us did it should It's pretty amazing the trap giant, 532 00:29:14,920 --> 00:29:18,880 Speaker 1: It is amazing. Um so that's all in the head, right, 533 00:29:19,000 --> 00:29:21,440 Speaker 1: You got your eyes, your mandibles, your mouth. There's a 534 00:29:21,440 --> 00:29:23,360 Speaker 1: little mouth that I mean, the ant has to eat 535 00:29:23,400 --> 00:29:27,600 Speaker 1: and everything. They don't have ears, we should point out 536 00:29:27,600 --> 00:29:30,280 Speaker 1: if we're talking about the head, but they do here 537 00:29:30,560 --> 00:29:33,680 Speaker 1: by way of vibration. I think there's a an organ 538 00:29:33,760 --> 00:29:36,880 Speaker 1: below the knee that senses vibration below the knee. I 539 00:29:36,920 --> 00:29:40,640 Speaker 1: didn't see that one man. That just keeps getting better 540 00:29:40,680 --> 00:29:43,880 Speaker 1: and better. Okay, So you move a little further back 541 00:29:43,920 --> 00:29:46,800 Speaker 1: on the ant and what you'll find is the next 542 00:29:46,840 --> 00:29:49,280 Speaker 1: little segment of the body called the mesa soma, which 543 00:29:49,320 --> 00:29:52,280 Speaker 1: is not particularly interesting other than the fact that this 544 00:29:52,360 --> 00:29:55,520 Speaker 1: is where the ants three pairs of legs, it's six 545 00:29:55,600 --> 00:29:59,520 Speaker 1: legs come together on the ant. So it's super muscular 546 00:29:59,640 --> 00:30:01,960 Speaker 1: because is how the ant propels itself forward and does 547 00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:06,520 Speaker 1: all sorts of neat things, climbing hand to hand, combat, 548 00:30:06,560 --> 00:30:09,760 Speaker 1: all carrying, all sorts of stuff. So it's very muscular 549 00:30:09,840 --> 00:30:14,560 Speaker 1: part of the ant. The messisoma, yes, very mustily. Uh, 550 00:30:14,640 --> 00:30:18,720 Speaker 1: you have the petty hole, which is the basically the 551 00:30:18,800 --> 00:30:22,920 Speaker 1: waste of the ant between the messisoma and the gaster. 552 00:30:23,880 --> 00:30:25,959 Speaker 1: But if you see, you know, you can see an 553 00:30:25,960 --> 00:30:29,200 Speaker 1: ant kind of stand up at the waist where it's 554 00:30:29,360 --> 00:30:32,000 Speaker 1: little front legs are off the ground. It's it's bending 555 00:30:32,040 --> 00:30:34,080 Speaker 1: there at the pettyole. Yeah, it's kind of like you 556 00:30:34,120 --> 00:30:37,000 Speaker 1: know those busses that are like two busses but they're 557 00:30:37,120 --> 00:30:40,360 Speaker 1: connected by some weird like membrane and when they turn 558 00:30:40,440 --> 00:30:42,040 Speaker 1: a corner you're like, oh god, oh god, oh god. 559 00:30:42,160 --> 00:30:44,560 Speaker 1: But then they pull it off somehow. That to me 560 00:30:44,680 --> 00:30:47,360 Speaker 1: is like the pettyole for the ant. I've never ridden 561 00:30:47,360 --> 00:30:49,920 Speaker 1: on one of those buses. It's not it doesn't look 562 00:30:49,960 --> 00:30:54,080 Speaker 1: like it's held together any better when you're inside the bus. Yeah, 563 00:30:54,240 --> 00:30:57,240 Speaker 1: it looks a lot of city buses. I will say, though, 564 00:30:57,680 --> 00:31:00,600 Speaker 1: Traveler's tip Emily Nights, I think it's this Before we 565 00:31:00,640 --> 00:31:03,640 Speaker 1: took a bus in Manhattan one time, which we had 566 00:31:03,760 --> 00:31:05,720 Speaker 1: never done before. We were always on the subway or 567 00:31:05,760 --> 00:31:08,280 Speaker 1: in a cab or something, and we happened to be 568 00:31:08,360 --> 00:31:11,240 Speaker 1: somewhere and we needed to get somewhere else and we 569 00:31:11,280 --> 00:31:13,040 Speaker 1: saw the bus and I said, I think we can 570 00:31:13,080 --> 00:31:16,480 Speaker 1: just get on this thing and it'll take us where 571 00:31:16,480 --> 00:31:19,040 Speaker 1: we want to go. And it was like it was 572 00:31:19,080 --> 00:31:22,080 Speaker 1: like a it felt like a tourist bus. It's like 573 00:31:22,160 --> 00:31:25,920 Speaker 1: it's a great way to see the city bus. No, no, no, 574 00:31:26,880 --> 00:31:28,400 Speaker 1: I was like it was red and I sat on 575 00:31:28,440 --> 00:31:30,920 Speaker 1: the roof. They didn't have a roof on the toime. No, 576 00:31:31,040 --> 00:31:33,040 Speaker 1: it was a regular city bus. But that's my point 577 00:31:33,120 --> 00:31:36,680 Speaker 1: is like for very little money, the only difference is 578 00:31:36,720 --> 00:31:39,360 Speaker 1: there's not some dummy with a microphone telling you about everything, 579 00:31:41,280 --> 00:31:44,000 Speaker 1: but a knowledgeable bus driver will tell you where some 580 00:31:44,120 --> 00:31:46,440 Speaker 1: of the stars live. Yeah, or at least where you're 581 00:31:46,440 --> 00:31:50,840 Speaker 1: stopping next. Sure. Yeah, sit down and shut up. That's 582 00:31:50,840 --> 00:31:53,840 Speaker 1: what they say. Uh, where are we are? We think? 583 00:31:54,680 --> 00:31:56,680 Speaker 1: I think the petty all. We didn't mention that some 584 00:31:56,760 --> 00:32:00,760 Speaker 1: of them have two of these wastes. Yeah, the petiole. 585 00:32:00,920 --> 00:32:02,680 Speaker 1: If you want to show off as an ant, you 586 00:32:02,760 --> 00:32:04,720 Speaker 1: might have two of them. Be like, look at it. 587 00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:08,800 Speaker 1: I can go two different ways at once. Watch me go. Uh. 588 00:32:08,800 --> 00:32:11,280 Speaker 1: And then you have the gaster And that's that rear part. 589 00:32:12,560 --> 00:32:15,800 Speaker 1: That's where the organs are house. That's where the heart is. 590 00:32:16,720 --> 00:32:19,320 Speaker 1: Although it does not pump blood, it has a colorless liquid. 591 00:32:20,000 --> 00:32:23,200 Speaker 1: There are no lungs In't that right? Yeah? They breathe um. 592 00:32:23,360 --> 00:32:28,200 Speaker 1: They basically just do um oxygen exchange oxygen carbon dioxide 593 00:32:28,240 --> 00:32:30,239 Speaker 1: exchange to little holes that they have all over their 594 00:32:30,240 --> 00:32:34,720 Speaker 1: body called spiricles, that's right, and those are connected through 595 00:32:34,760 --> 00:32:38,360 Speaker 1: network of tubes. And I think just the ants movement 596 00:32:38,600 --> 00:32:43,440 Speaker 1: is what makes that air exchange happen. It's very cool. Yeah. 597 00:32:43,520 --> 00:32:47,520 Speaker 1: The gaster makes the mesasoma feel really inadequate as far 598 00:32:47,560 --> 00:32:51,520 Speaker 1: as no just importance and the stuff that it's doing, 599 00:32:51,560 --> 00:32:55,280 Speaker 1: you know, because it has so much important stuff in 600 00:32:55,320 --> 00:32:58,440 Speaker 1: it almost got the heart, It's got that stinger, the 601 00:32:58,480 --> 00:33:03,440 Speaker 1: reproductive organs. Some ants can spray formic acid from their gaster. 602 00:33:04,200 --> 00:33:06,280 Speaker 1: If you come up to an ant in your aunt's size, 603 00:33:06,320 --> 00:33:09,840 Speaker 1: it'll just spray it in your face with acid and 604 00:33:09,880 --> 00:33:13,040 Speaker 1: say get back wow. And then what if it's a 605 00:33:13,120 --> 00:33:15,160 Speaker 1: what do you say? A trapped orient? It'll just spring 606 00:33:15,200 --> 00:33:18,200 Speaker 1: away completely out of sight in the blink of an eye, 607 00:33:18,360 --> 00:33:22,240 Speaker 1: in the blink tupp pound. I yeah, I like trap 608 00:33:22,360 --> 00:33:25,160 Speaker 1: door though. I bet there's a trapped orient. But what's 609 00:33:25,280 --> 00:33:27,920 Speaker 1: what's it called the trap jaw? And oh? I called 610 00:33:27,920 --> 00:33:30,320 Speaker 1: a trap do orient? Yeah? But I bet there's a 611 00:33:30,400 --> 00:33:32,400 Speaker 1: I guarantee you there's a trapped orient. I was thinking 612 00:33:32,440 --> 00:33:37,880 Speaker 1: of Castlevania just then. Uh. They have two stomachs generally, 613 00:33:38,040 --> 00:33:42,719 Speaker 1: and they one is for eating and uh, you know, 614 00:33:42,800 --> 00:33:47,080 Speaker 1: digesting their own food, but there they also will share food, 615 00:33:47,520 --> 00:33:50,400 Speaker 1: and that's what that second stomach is for, because they 616 00:33:50,440 --> 00:33:55,400 Speaker 1: practice trophylaxis, is when they exchange food with their like 617 00:33:55,480 --> 00:33:57,400 Speaker 1: if you know, you go out and forage, but the 618 00:33:57,440 --> 00:34:00,160 Speaker 1: other ants are back there working on taking or the 619 00:34:00,200 --> 00:34:02,800 Speaker 1: queen or whatever they gotta eat, so they'll bring back 620 00:34:02,840 --> 00:34:05,720 Speaker 1: food in their second stomach and then transfer it either 621 00:34:05,760 --> 00:34:10,000 Speaker 1: mouth to mouth or mouth to anus. Pretty nice, Pretty nice. 622 00:34:10,160 --> 00:34:12,920 Speaker 1: It is very very kind. If you think about it, 623 00:34:13,040 --> 00:34:15,719 Speaker 1: you know, it really is. So one of the things 624 00:34:15,760 --> 00:34:18,000 Speaker 1: you talked about earlier. I think when we're talking about 625 00:34:18,040 --> 00:34:22,320 Speaker 1: ant bridges um and how they can support so much weight, 626 00:34:22,719 --> 00:34:26,720 Speaker 1: partially it's because they have, like most insects, kitan exo 627 00:34:26,760 --> 00:34:31,919 Speaker 1: skeleton that can um that can withstand forces like three 628 00:34:31,960 --> 00:34:35,319 Speaker 1: thousand times greater than the ant's body weight. So that's 629 00:34:35,360 --> 00:34:37,759 Speaker 1: how you let ants walk all over you if you're 630 00:34:37,800 --> 00:34:42,000 Speaker 1: another aunt without even batting an eyelash. That's right. And 631 00:34:42,120 --> 00:34:47,040 Speaker 1: they are super super super strong um. I mean, I 632 00:34:47,080 --> 00:34:49,160 Speaker 1: know there are a lot of insects that can do 633 00:34:49,239 --> 00:34:52,200 Speaker 1: whatever x times their body weight, but it's tough to 634 00:34:52,239 --> 00:34:55,000 Speaker 1: beat the ant. As a general rule, some of them 635 00:34:55,040 --> 00:34:57,960 Speaker 1: can carry up to fifty times their own body weight, 636 00:34:58,680 --> 00:35:01,320 Speaker 1: and apparently it's due to the due to their small size. 637 00:35:02,000 --> 00:35:04,440 Speaker 1: And the reading I got from this was that their 638 00:35:04,520 --> 00:35:07,600 Speaker 1: muscles are just dns. They have a greater cross sectional 639 00:35:07,680 --> 00:35:11,000 Speaker 1: area relative to their body size compared to other kind 640 00:35:11,040 --> 00:35:13,080 Speaker 1: of all other animals. So I think that's just like 641 00:35:13,080 --> 00:35:16,040 Speaker 1: a really dense muscle. That's pretty cool. So they're muscular 642 00:35:16,080 --> 00:35:18,520 Speaker 1: and they have a strong excess skeleton. They're just tough, 643 00:35:20,040 --> 00:35:22,400 Speaker 1: that's right. And like you said, they could be found everywhere. 644 00:35:22,920 --> 00:35:24,879 Speaker 1: Um So I say we take our second break now 645 00:35:24,920 --> 00:35:27,000 Speaker 1: and then come back and talk a little bit about 646 00:35:27,040 --> 00:35:55,200 Speaker 1: what ant eat, what aunt eat. We'll be right back, okay, Chuck. 647 00:35:55,280 --> 00:35:57,720 Speaker 1: So we came back to talk about what ant eat, 648 00:35:58,440 --> 00:36:02,239 Speaker 1: and um, I think I said earlier the answer omnivorous. Right, 649 00:36:02,280 --> 00:36:04,840 Speaker 1: So that means they'll eat flesh, Like don't fool yourself. 650 00:36:04,920 --> 00:36:07,680 Speaker 1: Given given a chance, if you lay still long enough, 651 00:36:07,800 --> 00:36:09,920 Speaker 1: or if somebody stakes you to the ground and slithers 652 00:36:09,960 --> 00:36:14,640 Speaker 1: you in honey around some red fire ants, they will 653 00:36:14,680 --> 00:36:17,719 Speaker 1: eat your body. It'll be so well, so will your dog, 654 00:36:17,960 --> 00:36:19,839 Speaker 1: your dog with two don't be mad at your dog. 655 00:36:19,920 --> 00:36:22,280 Speaker 1: Your dogs just trying to stay alive. And it's always 656 00:36:22,280 --> 00:36:25,000 Speaker 1: just been curious what you tasted like, you know, oh man, 657 00:36:25,120 --> 00:36:27,640 Speaker 1: anytime you hear the stories, it's just so disturbing. He 658 00:36:27,760 --> 00:36:30,480 Speaker 1: really is like the dog that eats the person that 659 00:36:30,600 --> 00:36:34,279 Speaker 1: was just like in a bad drunk or whatever. Oh wow, 660 00:36:35,040 --> 00:36:40,359 Speaker 1: passed out. No, I haven't. I'm not gonna tell it, 661 00:36:40,400 --> 00:36:46,160 Speaker 1: but I know I know someone personally who their dog 662 00:36:47,760 --> 00:36:52,120 Speaker 1: the eight part of their they're not there, but someone 663 00:36:52,160 --> 00:36:55,600 Speaker 1: they live their roommates foot because the roommates foot was 664 00:36:55,640 --> 00:36:59,000 Speaker 1: asleep and they were passed out like a down to 665 00:36:59,080 --> 00:37:03,280 Speaker 1: the close to the bone. Wow. I know. It's disturbing. Wow, 666 00:37:03,320 --> 00:37:06,279 Speaker 1: and you know somebody. Yeah, I'm not gonna get into 667 00:37:06,360 --> 00:37:08,799 Speaker 1: all that, but it's it's it's somebody I know. But 668 00:37:08,840 --> 00:37:11,600 Speaker 1: it's not like somebody you know from like the snoop 669 00:37:12,320 --> 00:37:16,920 Speaker 1: something like. It's a person, a personal human who told 670 00:37:16,960 --> 00:37:20,279 Speaker 1: me this happened to them and their roommate. It's not 671 00:37:20,320 --> 00:37:21,880 Speaker 1: a friend of a friend of a friend kind of thing. 672 00:37:22,000 --> 00:37:24,120 Speaker 1: What happens to the dog after that that they keep 673 00:37:24,120 --> 00:37:29,240 Speaker 1: the dog? Yeah, yeah, it's the whole thing afterwards. Alright, 674 00:37:29,320 --> 00:37:31,640 Speaker 1: good lord, the dog's fine. But I'll tell you, okay, 675 00:37:31,800 --> 00:37:35,560 Speaker 1: I did not see this counting at all. I didn't either, 676 00:37:35,840 --> 00:37:38,399 Speaker 1: because we're talking again about ants, and ants, like I said, 677 00:37:38,400 --> 00:37:41,560 Speaker 1: are omnivorous. Right. I don't even know how I got 678 00:37:41,600 --> 00:37:43,239 Speaker 1: on this. I think if you lay still long enough 679 00:37:43,239 --> 00:37:44,799 Speaker 1: and ant will eat you down to the bone. That's 680 00:37:44,840 --> 00:37:50,719 Speaker 1: what we're talking. So will your your friend's roommates. Uh well, 681 00:37:50,719 --> 00:37:53,160 Speaker 1: it's actually my friends dogged. But that's a difference. Oh man, 682 00:37:53,200 --> 00:37:57,320 Speaker 1: that makes it even worse. So wait, your friend's dog 683 00:37:57,880 --> 00:38:02,000 Speaker 1: at your friend's roommates foot Uh huh how do you 684 00:38:02,040 --> 00:38:04,919 Speaker 1: apologize for that? I don't know, man, it's a weird 685 00:38:04,960 --> 00:38:07,239 Speaker 1: scene over at this place. There's no cookie cake that 686 00:38:07,280 --> 00:38:15,759 Speaker 1: they make for that. Oh boy, the cookie cake might help, 687 00:38:15,840 --> 00:38:18,440 Speaker 1: but I mean help, sure, but you just have to 688 00:38:18,440 --> 00:38:21,000 Speaker 1: get a generic one. Maybe one of those milk bar 689 00:38:22,040 --> 00:38:25,640 Speaker 1: Jest buys that might do it. Really, anything from milk 690 00:38:25,640 --> 00:38:31,200 Speaker 1: bar would work. I agree. Uh so, honey, Due, let's 691 00:38:31,200 --> 00:38:32,759 Speaker 1: talk about honey Due. I think that's how we can 692 00:38:32,800 --> 00:38:36,480 Speaker 1: get back on track. Let's talk about it. Have you 693 00:38:36,480 --> 00:38:40,560 Speaker 1: ever tried to grow a citrus producing tree? Uh? No, 694 00:38:41,040 --> 00:38:43,319 Speaker 1: I want a lime tree or a lemon tree, but 695 00:38:43,360 --> 00:38:46,200 Speaker 1: we don't currently have one. Okay, So one of the 696 00:38:46,200 --> 00:38:48,239 Speaker 1: worst things that's going to happen to you when you 697 00:38:48,280 --> 00:38:51,160 Speaker 1: start growing that lime tree are a FIDS. And you're 698 00:38:51,160 --> 00:38:52,960 Speaker 1: gonna know you have a FIDS, not because you see 699 00:38:52,960 --> 00:38:54,759 Speaker 1: a bunch of aphids on there, but because all of 700 00:38:54,800 --> 00:38:58,200 Speaker 1: a sudden, there's like sticky stuff running all over your leads, 701 00:38:58,239 --> 00:39:00,440 Speaker 1: all over your branches, all over the try of your 702 00:39:00,719 --> 00:39:03,120 Speaker 1: little lime tree that you're trying to grow and never 703 00:39:03,160 --> 00:39:05,240 Speaker 1: did anything to anybody, but now all of a sudden, 704 00:39:05,239 --> 00:39:08,400 Speaker 1: it's really suffering. And what you will know is that 705 00:39:08,400 --> 00:39:11,160 Speaker 1: that you have an a FIT infestation. One of the 706 00:39:11,200 --> 00:39:13,319 Speaker 1: other day giveaways Chuck, that you have an a FIT 707 00:39:13,360 --> 00:39:16,920 Speaker 1: infestation on your future hypothetical lime tree is that it 708 00:39:16,920 --> 00:39:19,680 Speaker 1: will be covered with ants. And those ants are not 709 00:39:19,760 --> 00:39:23,320 Speaker 1: just they're eating that sticky stuff, they're actually what's what's 710 00:39:23,360 --> 00:39:29,480 Speaker 1: some atomologists referred to as um raising these aphids as 711 00:39:29,520 --> 00:39:35,440 Speaker 1: basically livestock. Yeah, so the honeydew, and I might I 712 00:39:35,480 --> 00:39:37,359 Speaker 1: hope I'm not getting this wrong. It sounds like what 713 00:39:37,400 --> 00:39:41,600 Speaker 1: they do is is the apid pierces the flow m 714 00:39:41,680 --> 00:39:45,880 Speaker 1: ducks and then this stuff goes straight through them, this 715 00:39:45,960 --> 00:39:49,319 Speaker 1: sap and goes in their mouth, comes out their butt 716 00:39:49,320 --> 00:39:51,680 Speaker 1: as honey dew. And that's what those ants are. That's 717 00:39:51,680 --> 00:39:55,680 Speaker 1: their delicious nectar, right. Yes, I don't understand why the 718 00:39:55,719 --> 00:39:58,680 Speaker 1: ants can't just go to where the aphids just were 719 00:39:59,320 --> 00:40:01,920 Speaker 1: and the honeydew that's coming out of there. So it 720 00:40:02,000 --> 00:40:05,040 Speaker 1: must have something to do with with the aphid, like 721 00:40:05,080 --> 00:40:09,200 Speaker 1: it's transformed by the aphid physiology. I guess it's a 722 00:40:09,200 --> 00:40:12,239 Speaker 1: transformative experience, like like the ants. Like, yes, I see 723 00:40:12,320 --> 00:40:14,680 Speaker 1: the raw ingredient there is coming out of the tree, 724 00:40:14,719 --> 00:40:17,600 Speaker 1: but I can only I'm all about the stuff that's 725 00:40:17,640 --> 00:40:19,719 Speaker 1: coming out of this a fid little bottom. That's what 726 00:40:19,800 --> 00:40:24,600 Speaker 1: I want to lap up. I guess you know you want, 727 00:40:24,719 --> 00:40:26,520 Speaker 1: you want that soft serve right out of the machine. 728 00:40:26,960 --> 00:40:31,279 Speaker 1: I guess. So they are crazy for this stuff so 729 00:40:31,360 --> 00:40:35,160 Speaker 1: much so that again that they they do so they 730 00:40:35,200 --> 00:40:38,240 Speaker 1: will herd a fids two different parts of the plant 731 00:40:39,320 --> 00:40:42,080 Speaker 1: um to say, okay, here, bite into this, and I'm 732 00:40:42,080 --> 00:40:44,600 Speaker 1: just gonna position my mouth right right behind you while 733 00:40:44,640 --> 00:40:48,160 Speaker 1: you do. Just let it flow right in my face. Um. 734 00:40:48,239 --> 00:40:51,160 Speaker 1: They will move them around the plant like herds at 735 00:40:51,360 --> 00:40:53,840 Speaker 1: at night or when it gets cold. They will actually 736 00:40:53,920 --> 00:40:57,560 Speaker 1: like herd the aphids into their own little nests and 737 00:40:57,640 --> 00:41:01,680 Speaker 1: protect them and defend them. Ladybug Love to eat a FIDS, 738 00:41:01,719 --> 00:41:06,799 Speaker 1: So ants defend uh aphids against ladybugs. Um. They and 739 00:41:06,840 --> 00:41:10,279 Speaker 1: then if they want an a FID to produce honeydew, 740 00:41:10,520 --> 00:41:13,200 Speaker 1: they will actually like stroke the a fit to be 741 00:41:13,280 --> 00:41:15,600 Speaker 1: like go ahead, let go, and then they eat the 742 00:41:15,600 --> 00:41:17,759 Speaker 1: honeydew that comes out of the a fit. But they 743 00:41:18,200 --> 00:41:21,080 Speaker 1: The fact is this, to me is one of fifty 744 00:41:21,120 --> 00:41:24,880 Speaker 1: facts of the podcast. They heard and treat and raise 745 00:41:25,200 --> 00:41:29,880 Speaker 1: and protect a fids just like humans do livestock like 746 00:41:30,000 --> 00:41:33,239 Speaker 1: cattle and pigs and things that we depend on for 747 00:41:33,239 --> 00:41:39,279 Speaker 1: for food. Yeah, those little, supposedly brainless little insects all 748 00:41:39,320 --> 00:41:43,759 Speaker 1: in the name of that sweet sweet butt juice. That's right, honeydew. 749 00:41:44,680 --> 00:41:47,239 Speaker 1: That is unbelievable. Yeah, I think that might top off 750 00:41:47,640 --> 00:41:50,600 Speaker 1: at least this episode's fact of the podcast. That's better 751 00:41:50,640 --> 00:41:52,960 Speaker 1: than rafts. If you ask me, I think you might 752 00:41:53,000 --> 00:41:55,480 Speaker 1: be right, dude. So, not only do they like honeydew 753 00:41:55,560 --> 00:41:58,200 Speaker 1: chuck um because answer omnivorous. I'm not sure if I 754 00:41:58,200 --> 00:42:00,840 Speaker 1: said that yet. Um, they will eat all sorts of 755 00:42:00,880 --> 00:42:06,520 Speaker 1: other stuff too, um, nectar, other insects. Um. They're apparently 756 00:42:06,560 --> 00:42:11,600 Speaker 1: one of the largest predators of um invertebrates wherever they live. 757 00:42:13,719 --> 00:42:18,239 Speaker 1: Now will they eat each other. Yeah, they'll actually cannibalize 758 00:42:18,280 --> 00:42:22,480 Speaker 1: eggs to to um for so their line will will 759 00:42:22,640 --> 00:42:27,080 Speaker 1: um will succeed over like a nestmates line in some cases. 760 00:42:28,280 --> 00:42:30,799 Speaker 1: I also saw this thing and maybe this is a 761 00:42:30,840 --> 00:42:34,520 Speaker 1: decent fact to sort of finish on that. Some ants 762 00:42:34,560 --> 00:42:38,960 Speaker 1: are called slave makers and they practice slave rating. So 763 00:42:39,520 --> 00:42:42,640 Speaker 1: if you're a slave maker, aunt you are specialized to 764 00:42:42,719 --> 00:42:45,399 Speaker 1: another kind of species. It's really close to your own, 765 00:42:46,000 --> 00:42:49,319 Speaker 1: and you basically capture them and force them to work 766 00:42:49,360 --> 00:42:52,920 Speaker 1: in your colony. What is going on? And they do it. 767 00:42:53,000 --> 00:42:55,040 Speaker 1: They they just go over there and they work in 768 00:42:55,080 --> 00:42:58,160 Speaker 1: their colony like it was their own, and all the 769 00:42:58,760 --> 00:43:02,680 Speaker 1: slave maker all they do is go and replenish that 770 00:43:02,760 --> 00:43:07,880 Speaker 1: labor force with more enslaved ants. That is crazy. You 771 00:43:07,960 --> 00:43:10,560 Speaker 1: have to just stop researching at a certain point. I did. 772 00:43:10,800 --> 00:43:13,839 Speaker 1: That's what I'm saying, aunt radiwise, it's eighteen hours long, 773 00:43:13,920 --> 00:43:18,560 Speaker 1: aunt Ran is coming in chuck from us. Is that 774 00:43:18,640 --> 00:43:20,400 Speaker 1: is that good for part one? I think so it 775 00:43:20,520 --> 00:43:22,799 Speaker 1: was a great one to finish on. Nice work. And 776 00:43:22,800 --> 00:43:25,640 Speaker 1: then as as this custom, we don't typically do a 777 00:43:25,680 --> 00:43:28,239 Speaker 1: listener mail for part one of a part two, right, 778 00:43:29,440 --> 00:43:32,680 Speaker 1: and we'll see you guys Thursday, I Guess for part 779 00:43:32,719 --> 00:43:35,680 Speaker 1: two of ants. If I'm not mistaken, and if you 780 00:43:35,680 --> 00:43:37,279 Speaker 1: want to get in touch with us, you can send 781 00:43:37,360 --> 00:43:40,319 Speaker 1: us an email send it off to stuff podcast at 782 00:43:40,320 --> 00:43:46,040 Speaker 1: iHeart radio dot com. Stuff you Should Know is a 783 00:43:46,080 --> 00:43:49,440 Speaker 1: production of iHeart Radio. For more podcasts my heart Radio, 784 00:43:49,680 --> 00:43:52,759 Speaker 1: visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 785 00:43:52,840 --> 00:44:00,440 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows. Four