Love is a Battlefield

Today I am talking about insects, their weapons, how they are used in love and war, and how some scientists curious about why insects have elaborate weaponry use a bit of creativity to get some answers. One of those scientists, Dr. Zach Emberts is my guest today. He studies animal behavior and the evolution of anima weapons with a focus on insects. 

Dr. Emberts is a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Arizona. The research we are talking about today was done in collaboration with his postdoctoral advisor, Dr. John Weins. You can learn more about the Weins lab here and follow Zach Emberts on Twitter @ZachEmberts 

A highlight of the episode is where Zach talks about the creative problem solving needed to design the body armour used in the fighting experiments. 

And here is a video showing just how these critters fight and wrestle.

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