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Ant Life Part 1

Content Info | Transcript

Teamwork is part of life for ants. These social insects live in a society where group work is wired into each individual’s brain. Listen in as co-host Jane Rector and Dr. Biology learn about the world of ants from biologist Jennifer Fewell. Could leafcutter ants be one of the first animals to farm?

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Topic Time
Intro 00:00
Cohost Jane Rector introduces herself 00:17
Introduction of Jennifer Fewell 01:11
When bitten by ants was the reaction an allergic reaction or a normal reaction? [harvester ants] 01:40
Need to be stung at least once before you become allergic. 02:44
Jennifer's first experience with a social insect. 03:29
How powerful is the toxin of an ant? [Dr. Biology] 03:55
Ant escapes and the effect on colonies. [leaf cutter ants] 04:55
The story of mass colony escapes. 06:23
Why would ants move their colony? 07:12
What is the white gooey looking stuff inside the colonies? 07:54
How big are ants brains - and ant brain anatomy. [distributed nerve systems] 09:04
Ant communication. 10:45
Do the ants know what work they are going to do when they become an adult? [ant roles - age-based division of labor] 12:01
Are all the ants in a colony females or males? 14:12
When do boy ants come into the colony and do they work? 15:15
Why do the queens chew their wings off? 17:01
Can a colony of leafcutters start without bringing some starter fungus? 17:30
How did fungus first get started? [Leaf cutter ants] 18:17
Is there only one queen who starts a colony? 19:06
Do ants have feelings for each other? 20:11
Can ants recognize each other? [experiment to test this] 21:22
Have scientists studied the difference in pheromones? 22:58
How do you start one of your laboratory ant colonies? 23:24
What happens if the queen loses the fungus if you bring her to the laboratory. [trans-funganation] 24:23
Is the fungus like baking sourdough bread starter? [Dr. Biology] 25:05
Does the fungus naturally hang from the top? 25:31
Not all ants can sting - correct - or do they bite? 26:19
Show break between part 1 and part 2. 27:23

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Ant Life Part 1

Audio editor: CJ Kazilek

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