The Origins of the Yellow Crazy Ants

Why some countries, such as China, vaccinate flocks against bird flu but others don’t, and male ants that are always chimeras

First up this week, highly pathogenic avian influenza is spreading to domestic flocks around the globe from migrating birds. Why don’t many countries vaccinate their bird herds when finding one case can mean massive culls? Staff News Writer Jon Cohen joins host Sarah Crespi to discuss the push and pull of economics, politics, and science at play in vaccinating poultry against bird flu.

Next up, a crazy method of reproduction in the yellow crazy ants (Anoplolepis gracilipes). Hugo Darras, an assistant professor in the Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution at Johannes Gutenberg University, talks about how males of this species are always chimeras—which means their body is composed of two different cell lines, one from each parent.

Read a related perspective. 

This week’s episode was produced with help from Podigy.

About the Science Podcast

[Image: The Wild Martin; Music: Jeffrey Cook]

[alt: Queen and worker yellow crazy ants with podcast overlay]

Authors: Sarah Crespi; Jon Cohen

Episode page: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adi0665

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices