What Darwin Didn't Know: The Modern Science of Evolution

The Sterile Worker Paradox (1x16)

Air date: Dec 05, 2018

Why was Darwin afraid that ants might undermine his theory of natural selection? Delve into the sterile worker paradox: the puzzle of why ants and other “eusocial” species evolved to have large numbers of non-reproducing offspring. Since the ability to reproduce is central to natural selection, this feature, which is common among insects and also present in other animals, demands explanation.