0:00:01.793,0:00:06.785
So, people are more afraid of insects[br]than they are of dying.

0:00:06.809,0:00:08.587
(Laughter)

0:00:08.611,0:00:13.119
At least, according to a 1973[br]"Book of Lists" survey

0:00:13.143,0:00:20.143
which preceded all those online best,[br]worst, funniest lists that you see today.

0:00:20.167,0:00:23.805
Only heights and public speaking

0:00:23.829,0:00:27.365
exceeded the six-legged[br]as sources of fear.

0:00:27.884,0:00:31.436
And I suspect if you had put[br]spiders in there,

0:00:31.460,0:00:35.989
the combinations of insects and spiders[br]would have just topped the chart.

0:00:36.736,0:00:38.839
Now, I am not one of those people.

0:00:38.863,0:00:41.009
I really love insects.

0:00:41.033,0:00:45.084
I think they're interesting and beautiful,

0:00:45.108,0:00:46.596
and sometimes even cute.

0:00:46.620,0:00:48.087
(Laughter)

0:00:48.111,0:00:49.479
And I'm not alone.

0:00:49.503,0:00:53.209
For centuries, some[br]of the greatest minds in science,

0:00:53.233,0:00:56.245
from Charles Darwin to E.O. Wilson,

0:00:56.269,0:01:01.550
have drawn inspiration from studying[br]some of the smallest minds on Earth.

0:01:02.661,0:01:04.362
Well, why is that?

0:01:04.386,0:01:07.431
What is that keeps us[br]coming back to insects?

0:01:08.055,0:01:12.654
Some of it, of course, is just the sheer[br]magnitude of almost everything about them.

0:01:12.678,0:01:15.665
They're more numerous[br]than any other kind of animal.

0:01:15.689,0:01:18.513
We don't even know how many species[br]of insects there are,

0:01:18.537,0:01:21.254
because new ones[br]are being discovered all the time.

0:01:21.278,0:01:24.903
There are at least a million,[br]maybe as many as 10 million.

0:01:25.221,0:01:29.485
This means that you could have[br]an insect-of-the-month calendar

0:01:29.509,0:01:33.494
and not have to reuse a species[br]for over 80,000 years.

0:01:33.518,0:01:36.418
(Laughter)

0:01:36.442,0:01:38.130
Take that, pandas and kittens!

0:01:38.154,0:01:40.482
(Laughter)

0:01:40.506,0:01:43.974
More seriously, insects are essential.

0:01:43.998,0:01:45.445
We need them.

0:01:45.469,0:01:48.869
It's been estimated[br]that 1 out of every 3 bites of food

0:01:48.893,0:01:51.567
is made possible by a pollinator.

0:01:52.972,0:01:56.199
Scientist use insects to make fundamental[br]discoveries

0:01:56.223,0:01:59.124
about everything from the structure[br]of our nervous systems

0:01:59.148,0:02:01.296
to how our genes and DNA work.

0:02:02.388,0:02:04.266
But what I love most about insects

0:02:04.290,0:02:07.071
is what they can tell us[br]about our own behavior.

0:02:07.539,0:02:10.596
Insects seem like they do[br]everything that people do.

0:02:10.620,0:02:14.159
They meet, they mate,[br]they fight, they break up.

0:02:14.509,0:02:18.570
And they do so with what looks[br]like love or animosity.

0:02:19.665,0:02:24.876
But what drives their behaviors is really[br]different than what drives our own,

0:02:24.900,0:02:27.474
and that difference[br]can be really illuminating.

0:02:28.234,0:02:30.101
There's nowhere where that's more true

0:02:30.125,0:02:33.686
than when it comes to one[br]of our most consuming interests -- sex.

0:02:34.142,0:02:36.975
Now, I will maintain.[br]and I think I can defend,

0:02:36.999,0:02:39.400
what may seem like a surprising statement.

0:02:40.749,0:02:44.296
I think sex in insects is more[br]interesting than sex in people.

0:02:44.320,0:02:46.107
(Laughter)

0:02:46.131,0:02:49.270
And the wild variety that we see

0:02:49.294,0:02:52.207
makes us challenge[br]some of our own assumptions

0:02:52.231,0:02:54.955
about what it means to be male and female.

0:02:55.663,0:02:57.314
Of course, to start with,

0:02:57.338,0:03:00.295
a lot of insects don't need[br]to have sex at all to reproduce.

0:03:00.319,0:03:04.749
Female aphids can make little, tiny clones[br]of themselves without ever mating.

0:03:05.441,0:03:06.914
Virgin birth, right there.

0:03:06.938,0:03:08.226
On your rose bushes.

0:03:08.250,0:03:11.446
(Laughter)

0:03:11.470,0:03:13.011
When they do have sex,

0:03:13.035,0:03:16.292
even their sperm is more[br]interesting than human sperm.

0:03:16.316,0:03:18.691
There are some kinds of fruit flies

0:03:18.715,0:03:22.192
whose sperm is longer[br]than the male's own body.

0:03:22.216,0:03:26.476
And that's important because the males[br]use their sperm to compete.

0:03:26.873,0:03:31.060
Now, male insects do compete with weapons,[br]like the horns on these beetles.

0:03:31.553,0:03:35.797
But they also compete[br]after mating with their sperm.

0:03:36.726,0:03:41.852
Dragonflies and damselflies have penises[br]that look kind of like Swiss Army knives

0:03:41.876,0:03:43.969
with all of the attachments pulled out.

0:03:43.993,0:03:45.863
(Laughter)

0:03:45.887,0:03:50.033
They use these formidable devices[br]like scoops,

0:03:50.057,0:03:54.794
to remove the sperm from previous males[br]that the female has mated with.

0:03:54.818,0:03:56.885
(Laughter)

0:03:56.909,0:03:59.606
So, what can we learn from this?

0:03:59.630,0:04:05.309
(Laughter)

0:04:05.333,0:04:10.343
All right, it is not a lesson in the sense[br]of us imitating them

0:04:10.367,0:04:13.891
or of them setting[br]an example for us to follow.

0:04:13.915,0:04:17.241
Which, given this,[br]is probably just as well.

0:04:17.265,0:04:20.839
And also, did I mention sexual cannibalism[br]is rampant among insects?

0:04:20.863,0:04:23.191
So, no, that's not the point.

0:04:23.215,0:04:24.952
But what I think insects do,

0:04:24.976,0:04:30.965
is break a lot of the rules[br]that we humans have about the sex roles.

0:04:31.319,0:04:36.848
So, people have this idea that nature[br]dictates kind of a 1950s sitcom version

0:04:36.872,0:04:38.827
of what males and females are like.

0:04:38.851,0:04:42.004
So that males are always[br]supposed to be dominant and aggressive,

0:04:42.028,0:04:43.770
and females are passive and coy.

0:04:43.794,0:04:45.744
But that's just not the case.

0:04:46.606,0:04:48.668
So for example, take katydids,

0:04:48.692,0:04:51.534
which are relatives of crickets[br]and grasshoppers.

0:04:51.558,0:04:55.035
The males are very picky[br]about who they mate with,

0:04:55.059,0:04:58.284
because they not only transfer[br]sperm during mating,

0:04:58.308,0:05:02.774
they also give the female[br]something called a nuptial gift.

0:05:02.798,0:05:06.475
You can see two katydids[br]mating in these photos.

0:05:06.499,0:05:08.819
In both panels,[br]the male's the one on the right,

0:05:08.843,0:05:12.423
and that sword-like appendage[br]is the female's egg-laying organ.

0:05:13.126,0:05:15.653
The white blob is the sperm,

0:05:15.677,0:05:19.063
the green blob is the nuptial gift,

0:05:19.087,0:05:22.453
and the male manufactures[br]this from his own body

0:05:22.477,0:05:24.655
and it's extremely costly to produce.

0:05:24.679,0:05:27.387
It can weigh up to a third[br]of his body mass.

0:05:27.985,0:05:30.519
I will now pause for a moment[br]and let you think about

0:05:30.543,0:05:34.706
what it would be like if human men,[br]every time they had sex,

0:05:34.730,0:05:40.777
had to produce something[br]that weighed 50, 60, 70 pounds.

0:05:40.801,0:05:44.408
(Laughter)

0:05:44.432,0:05:47.671
Okay, they would not be able[br]to do that very often.

0:05:47.695,0:05:49.192
(Laughter)

0:05:49.216,0:05:51.617
And indeed, neither can the katydids.

0:05:52.343,0:05:54.255
And so what that means

0:05:54.279,0:05:58.087
is the katydid males are very choosy

0:05:58.111,0:06:01.191
about who they offer[br]these nuptial gifts to.

0:06:01.215,0:06:03.141
Now, the gift is very nutritious,

0:06:03.165,0:06:05.859
and the female eats it[br]during and after mating.

0:06:05.883,0:06:08.240
So, the bigger it is,[br]the better off the male is,

0:06:08.264,0:06:10.440
because that means more time for his sperm

0:06:10.464,0:06:12.912
to drain into her body[br]and fertilize her eggs.

0:06:13.521,0:06:17.871
But it also means that the males[br]are very passive about mating,

0:06:17.895,0:06:21.420
whereas the females[br]are extremely aggressive and competitive,

0:06:21.444,0:06:25.760
in an attempt to get as many of these[br]nutritious nuptial gifts as they can.

0:06:25.784,0:06:29.579
So, it's not exactly[br]a stereotypical set of rules.

0:06:30.974,0:06:32.685
Even more generally though,

0:06:32.709,0:06:37.773
males are actually not all that important[br]in the lives of a lot of insects.

0:06:37.797,0:06:42.226
In the social insects --[br]the bees and wasps and ants --

0:06:42.250,0:06:44.845
the individuals that you see every day --

0:06:44.869,0:06:47.314
the ants going back and forth[br]to your sugar bowl,

0:06:47.338,0:06:50.347
the honey bees that are flitting[br]from flower to flower --

0:06:50.371,0:06:52.670
all of those are always female.

0:06:53.300,0:06:57.876
People have had a hard time getting[br]their head around that idea for millennia.

0:06:57.900,0:07:02.998
The ancient Greeks knew that there was[br]a class of bees, the drones,

0:07:03.022,0:07:05.073
that are larger than the workers,

0:07:05.097,0:07:07.667
although they disapproved[br]of the drones' laziness

0:07:07.691,0:07:10.746
because they could see that[br]the drones just hang around the hive

0:07:10.770,0:07:12.295
until the mating flight --

0:07:12.319,0:07:13.538
they're the males.

0:07:13.562,0:07:15.581
They hang around until the mating flight,

0:07:15.605,0:07:18.344
but they don't participate[br]in gathering nectar or pollen.

0:07:18.368,0:07:20.652
The Greeks couldn't figure out[br]the drones' sex,

0:07:20.676,0:07:25.243
and part of the confusion was that they[br]were aware of the stinging ability of bees

0:07:25.267,0:07:28.124
but they found it difficult to believe

0:07:28.148,0:07:31.395
that any animals that bore such a weapon[br]could possibly be a female.

0:07:31.705,0:07:34.715
Aristotle tried to get involved as well.

0:07:34.739,0:07:39.327
He suggested, "OK, if the stinging[br]individuals are going to be the males ..."

0:07:39.351,0:07:41.817
Then he got confused,[br]because that would have meant

0:07:41.841,0:07:44.570
the males were also taking care[br]of the young in a colony,

0:07:44.594,0:07:49.002
and he seemed to think[br]that would be completely impossible.

0:07:49.026,0:07:52.075
He then concluded that maybe[br]bees had the organs of both sexes

0:07:52.099,0:07:53.250
in the same individual,

0:07:53.274,0:07:55.843
which is not that far-fetched,[br]some animals do that,

0:07:55.867,0:07:58.120
but he never really[br]did get it figured out.

0:07:58.744,0:08:02.530
And you know, even today,[br]my students, for instance,

0:08:02.554,0:08:07.245
call every animal they see,[br]including insects, a male.

0:08:07.585,0:08:11.121
And when I tell them[br]that the ferocious army-ant soldiers

0:08:11.145,0:08:14.078
with their giant jaws,[br]used to defend the colony,

0:08:14.102,0:08:17.204
are all always female,

0:08:17.228,0:08:19.562
they seem to not quite believe me.

0:08:19.586,0:08:20.731
(Laughter)

0:08:20.755,0:08:25.955
And certainly all of the movies --[br]Antz, Bee Movie --

0:08:25.979,0:08:31.834
portray the main character[br]in the social insects as being male.

0:08:32.869,0:08:34.673
Well, what difference does this make?

0:08:34.697,0:08:36.334
These are movies. They're fiction.

0:08:36.358,0:08:37.980
They have talking animals in them.

0:08:38.004,0:08:41.684
What difference does it make[br]if they talk like Jerry Seinfeld?

0:08:41.708,0:08:43.872
I think it does matter,

0:08:43.896,0:08:46.760
and it's a problem that actually[br]is part of a much deeper one

0:08:46.784,0:08:50.913
that has implications[br]for medicine and health

0:08:50.937,0:08:53.571
and a lot of other aspects of our lives.

0:08:53.595,0:08:57.088
You all know that scientists[br]use what we call model systems,

0:08:57.112,0:09:00.473
which are creatures --[br]white rats or fruit flies --

0:09:00.497,0:09:05.051
that are kind of stand-ins[br]for all other animals, including people.

0:09:05.075,0:09:08.019
And the idea is[br]that what's true for a person

0:09:08.043,0:09:10.454
will also be true for the white rat.

0:09:10.478,0:09:13.458
And by and large,[br]that turns out to be the case.

0:09:13.482,0:09:17.243
But you can take the idea[br]of a model system too far.

0:09:17.924,0:09:20.193
And what I think we've done,

0:09:20.217,0:09:25.668
is use males, in any species,[br]as though they are the model system.

0:09:25.692,0:09:26.915
The norm.

0:09:26.939,0:09:29.486
The way things are supposed to be.

0:09:29.510,0:09:32.559
And females as a kind of variant --

0:09:32.583,0:09:36.310
something special that you only study[br]after you get the basics down.

0:09:37.802,0:09:40.485
And so, back to the insects.

0:09:40.509,0:09:41.857
I think what that means

0:09:41.881,0:09:44.700
is that people just couldn't see[br]what was in front of them.

0:09:44.724,0:09:51.160
Because they assumed that the world's[br]stage was largely occupied by male players

0:09:51.184,0:09:55.036
and females would only have[br]minor, walk-on roles.

0:09:55.626,0:10:01.065
But when we do that, we really miss out[br]on a lot of what nature is like.

0:10:01.588,0:10:08.587
And we can also miss out on the way[br]natural, living things, including people,

0:10:08.611,0:10:10.001
can vary.

0:10:10.025,0:10:15.100
And I think that's why we've used males[br]as models in a lot of medical research,

0:10:15.124,0:10:17.189
something that we know now to be a problem

0:10:17.213,0:10:21.610
if we want the results to apply[br]to both men and women.

0:10:22.760,0:10:25.287
Well, the last thing[br]I really love about insects

0:10:25.311,0:10:28.572
is something that a lot of people[br]find unnerving about them.

0:10:28.596,0:10:30.363
They have little, tiny brains

0:10:30.387,0:10:33.780
with very little cognitive ability,[br]the way we normally think of it.

0:10:34.398,0:10:39.074
They have complicated behavior,[br]but they lack complicated brains.

0:10:39.860,0:10:45.037
And so, we can't just think of them[br]as though they're little people

0:10:45.061,0:10:48.606
because they don't do things[br]the way that we do.

0:10:48.630,0:10:52.730
I really love that it's difficult[br]to anthropomorphize insects,

0:10:52.754,0:10:56.277
to look at them and just think of them[br]like they're little people

0:10:56.301,0:10:58.439
in exoskeletons, with six legs.

0:10:58.927,0:11:00.188
(Laughter)

0:11:00.212,0:11:03.757
Instead, you really have to accept them[br]on their own terms,

0:11:03.781,0:11:08.914
because insects make us question[br]what's normal and what's natural.

0:11:09.527,0:11:14.160
Now, you know, people write fiction[br]and talk about parallel universes.

0:11:14.184,0:11:17.482
They speculate about the supernatural,

0:11:17.506,0:11:20.939
maybe the spirits of the departed[br]walking among us.

0:11:22.537,0:11:25.733
The allure of another world

0:11:25.757,0:11:31.911
is something that people say is part of[br]why they want to dabble in the paranormal.

0:11:32.376,0:11:34.665
But as far as I'm concerned,

0:11:34.689,0:11:36.858
who needs to be able to see dead people,

0:11:36.882,0:11:38.560
when you can see live insects?

0:11:39.262,0:11:40.424
Thank you.

0:11:40.448,0:11:44.931
(Applause)