×

We use cookies to help make LingQ better. By visiting the site, you agree to our cookie policy.


image

It`s Okay To Be Smart, We've Got Ants In Our Plants!

We've Got Ants In Our Plants!

[MUSIC]

If this is your first time in the rainforest, I get it.

All the trees pretty much look alike.

Maybe you're at the end of a long hike, you wanna take a little break, have a drink

of water.

So you pick a tree to rest up against and relax.

Well, this would be a very bad tree to pick.

It's full of ants.

We've got ants in our plants!

[MUSIC]

Flowering plants first sprouted onto the scene about 160 million years ago, and they've

been locked in a dance with insects ever since… sometimes they give food, sometimes they are

food, their evolution's always been intertwined.

But the most complex insect/plant relationships don't involve butterflies, beetles, or bees.

They belong to the ants.

Locals call this the “novice tree” because there's a painful lesson waiting for anyone

who leans up against it.

It's full of ants.

A whole colony lives inside, spread from the roots up through the highest branches.

But inside of a tree is kind of a weird place to find ants.

If only there was somebody around who could teach me more about this crazy ant/tree relationship!

Oh!

Oh, look at that!

It's Aaron Pomerantz!

Here in the rainforest.

How's it going, Joe?

It's going pretty well, but I'm kind of curious why ants would want to live inside

a tree?

Where we're from ants live in little mounds, and that's just how it goes

Yeah, this tree can host thousands of ants, and this is not a short term relationship.

The ants can live inside as a colony for years, for decades even, and their tree grows as

the colony grows.

You can see that they're sort of coming out of these little pits, right?

Yeah, there's holes all up and down this tree where the ants coming in and out.

Yeah and if you were to cut this open or one of the stems, they would actually be hollow,

the ants live inside.

That's right.

To these ants, this tree is home.

And the ants didn't tunnel it out themselves.

It grew that way.

A tree built for a queen and a few hundred thousand of her children.

Inside, the ants not only get a safe place to raise their young, the tree is also their

food source.

Tiny scale insects live alongside the ants.

In return for free room and board, those bugs digest tree sap and secrete a nutrient-rich

liquid, full of the good stuff ants need.

They're kind of farming them like little mini insect cows.

That's an adorable… they milk them?

Little udders!

Yeah!

But you have to wonder: what's in it for the tree?

Why spend all that energy building tunnels and doors so a bunch of insects can move in

and suck out your precious bodily fluids?

Because ants are very protective of their home.

It's really interesting to note we're in this barren spot right now.

You notice there's no other plants around us.

And this is caused by the ants, they actually clear out parts of the rainforest because

they want their tree to get more sunlight so that it can grow.

Think about that.

If a branch or vine from another plant touches their tree, they'll sting it, bite it, and

cut it out of the way, like tiny gardeners.

Both species put in work, both species get something in return.

Good old mutualism!

Plants that house ants are called myrmecophytes.

But not all plant/ant relationships are so evenly balanced.

Acacia trees house ant bodyguards that are so aggressive they can repel an elephant,

and in return, they get nectar.

But the tree laces that meal with an ingredient that keeps the ants from digesting nectar

from any other plant.

They're chemical slaves to their host.

Now one tree of ants is cool, but we found another species that takes treehouses to the

next level.

Aaron this is weird over here, we've been walking through dense rainforest all day long,

but we're in a clearing, we're not dodging branches, there's sun above us, what's

happening here?

Yeah, this is a really strange part of the forest that we're in right now, and this

is called the Devil's Garden.

The Devil's Garden, like did people come through and clear this out?

Is this clear-cutting in the forest?

It's actually entirely caused by ants that live with this plant.

What they're doing is they're clearing out all the space around it and only letting their

home plant survive

These plants grow little bulbs called domatia, little ant houses!

To keep the ants happy, the plant pumps out pre-packaged meals called food bodies.

And in return, the ants offer protection.

Just like tiny Ant-ony Sopranos.

Think about how weird that is.

This plant grew these hollow bulbs seemingly for those ants without even knowing that ants

exist.

And in return that plant gets protection from things like caterpillars that might want to

eat its leaves and those ants get protection by being up off the rainforest floor, where

there's things like spiders and flies that want to lay eggs so maggots can eat their

brains.

It's a real "you scratch my back, I live inside your hollow bulbs" relationship/

And they're clearly very successful at it, because the ants will climb out of their little

homes, onto the ground and just destroy any other competing plants in the area.

They're really active, they're out all over this right now, I think they think we're

plants that are trying to come in here and grow.

So they come down onto the forest floor, do they like eat, do they chop them down like

leafcutters?

How do they control that growth?

So it's really cool, they'll actually inject, with their stinger, formic acid into

the plant, which sort of melts it away kind of like this herbicide.

Yeah, all along this root I see those little black ants from the tree.

They've wiped out this little seedling here.

It's dry and crackly and dead, they're doing forest control right before my eyes.

The line between cooperating and being a parasite is like this thin.

If these yellow Allomerus ants move in, they castrate the fruits, so instead of devoting

energy to reproduction, the plant produces more food and shelter for the ants.

Fun fact: this plant is also known as "huevo de gato", which I'll let you translate yourself.

Adios huevos.

That's so awesome that some of the rainforest's smallest residents can shape it in such incredible

ways.

Yeah, the ants are the dominant life force out here in the rainforest, it's incredible.

Yeah, I found that out the hard way, but man thanks for showing us that, that is so cool.

Alright, stay curious!

Um, I thought of a joke.

What did the Pink Panther say when he stepped on an ant mound?

What's that, Joe?

Dead ant, dead ant, dead ant dead ant dead ant!

There are so many cool insect plant relationships in the rainforest.

Our friends from Deep Look joined us in Peru and they made a video about ant/plant betrayal.

Head over to their channel to check it out.

Alright, we have a tradition on this show.

Whenever we make an ant video, I've gotta get stung, so let's see what happens.

Oh that sucks.

No that does not feel good.

Oh, that's… it's different than a fire ant, it's not as hot, but it's definitely a little

more needle-like.

And piercing.

I don't like it very much.

Aw she's really going to town.

Look at that.

Ooh, it's very sharp, ahh, we're done with this idea, I think we're finished.

Oh it hurts so much worse afterwards.

That's the last time I mess with this tree.

Stay curious!

I'm getting away from this thing.

Learn languages from TV shows, movies, news, articles and more! Try LingQ for FREE

We've Got Ants In Our Plants! Wir haben Ameisen in unseren Pflanzen! ¡Tenemos hormigas en nuestras plantas! Abbiamo formiche nelle nostre piante! 식물에 개미가 있어요! We hebben mieren in onze planten! В наших растениях завелись муравьи! Bitkilerimizde Karıncalar Var!

[MUSIC]

If this is your first time in the rainforest, I get it. إن كانت هذه المرة الأولى لك في الغابة المطيرة، فأنا أتفهم ذلك.

All the trees pretty much look alike. جميع الأشجار متشابهة إلى حد كبير

Maybe you're at the end of a long hike, you wanna take a little break, have a drink قد تكون في نهاية نزهة طويلة

of water.

So you pick a tree to rest up against and relax. لذا تختار شجرةً لتتكئ عليها وترتاح،

Well, this would be a very bad tree to pick.

It's full of ants. فهي مليئة بالنمل

We've got ants in our plants!

[MUSIC]

Flowering plants first sprouted onto the scene about 160 million years ago, and they've |||проросли||||||||| بدأت النباتات الزهرية بالظهور قبل حوالي 160 مليون سنة، Bloeiende planten kwamen ongeveer 160 miljoen jaar geleden voor het eerst op het toneel, en ze hebben

been locked in a dance with insects ever since… sometimes they give food, sometimes they are ولقد كانت في تناسق معيشي مع الحشرات منذ ذلك الوقت. فأحياناً توفر الغذاء، وبأوقات أخرى تكون

food, their evolution's always been intertwined. |||||connected or linked |||||переплетені між собою هي الغذاء، فتطورهما كان وما زال مترابطاً.

But the most complex insect/plant relationships don't involve butterflies, beetles, or bees. ولكن علاقات الحشرات مع النبات الأكثر تعقيداً ليست المتضمنة على الفراشات أو الخنافس أو النحل،

They belong to the ants. بل تنتمي للنمل.

Locals call this the “novice tree” because there's a painful lesson waiting for anyone Місцеві жителі||||||||||||| المحليون يسمون هذه "شجرة المبتدئين" Locals noemen dit de "beginnersboom" omdat er voor iedereen een pijnlijke les wacht

who leans up against it. |спирається на|||

It's full of ants. فهي مليئة بالنمل.

A whole colony lives inside, spread from the roots up through the highest branches. مستعمرة كاملة تعيش بالداخل، منتشرة من الجذور وحتى أعلى الأغصان.

But inside of a tree is kind of a weird place to find ants. |||||||||||||мурахи ولكن في داخل الشجرة هو مكان غريب لتجد فيه النمل

If only there was somebody around who could teach me more about this crazy ant/tree relationship! لو أن هنالك شخص في الجوار يعلمني أكثر عن هذه العلاقة المجنونة بين النمل والشجرة!

Oh!

Oh, look at that! أوه!

It's Aaron Pomerantz!

Here in the rainforest. هنا في الغابة المطيرة

How's it going, Joe? كيف حالك يا جو؟

It's going pretty well, but I'm kind of curious why ants would want to live inside كل شيء على ما يرام، ولكنني أتساءل لماذا قد يعيش النمل بداخل شجرة؟

a tree?

Where we're from ants live in little mounds, and that's just how it goes Де|||||||мурашники|||||| حيث نعيش نحن، يعيش النمل في التلال وهكذا تسير الأمور! Waar we vandaan komen mieren leven in kleine heuvels, en dat is precies hoe het gaat

Yeah, this tree can host thousands of ants, and this is not a short term relationship. بالطبع، هذه الشجرة تستطيع أن تستضيف آلاف النمل وليست هذه بالعلاقة قصيرة المدى.

The ants can live inside as a colony for years, for decades even, and their tree grows as بإمكان النمل أن يعيش بالداخل كمستعمرة على مدى سنوات أو حتى لعقود

the colony grows.

You can see that they're sort of coming out of these little pits, right? بإمكانك أن ترى أنهم يخرجون تقريباً من هذه الحفر الصغيرة صحيح؟ Je kunt zien dat ze uit deze kleine kuilen komen, toch?

Yeah, there's holes all up and down this tree where the ants coming in and out. أجل هنالك فتحات من أعلى إلى أسفل هذه الشجرة، والنمل يخرج ويدخل منها.

Yeah and if you were to cut this open or one of the stems, they would actually be hollow, |||||||||||||стебла||||| بالطبع ولو حاولت أن تفتح هذه أو إحدى السيقان فستجدها مجوّفة،

the ants live inside. والنمل يعيش بالداخل.

That's right. هذا صحيح.

To these ants, this tree is home. بالنسبة للنمل هذه الشجرة هي موطنهم.

And the ants didn't tunnel it out themselves. ولم يحفرها النمل بنفسه،

It grew that way. فقد نمت هكذا.

A tree built for a queen and a few hundred thousand of her children. شجرة مبنية لملكة وبعض مئات الآلاف من أبنائها.

Inside, the ants not only get a safe place to raise their young, the tree is also their

food source.

Tiny scale insects live alongside the ants. تعيش حشرات قشرية ضئيلة بجانب النمل. Kleine schaalinsecten leven naast de mieren.

In return for free room and board, those bugs digest tree sap and secrete a nutrient-rich في مقابل المكان والإعاشة، تهضم هذه الحشرات عصارة الشجرة وتفرز سائلاً In ruil voor gratis kost en inwoning, verteren die beestjes boomsap en scheiden ze een voedselrijke

liquid, full of the good stuff ants need. مغذياً، غنياً بالعناصر الجيدة التي يحتاجها النمل.

They're kind of farming them like little mini insect cows. هم يقومون نوعاً ما برعي هذه الحشرات الصغيرة كالبقر.

That's an adorable… they milk them? هذا رائع، هل يحلبونها؟

Little udders! Маленькі вим'я!|Маленькі вим'я! أثداء صغيرة!

Yeah! نعم!

But you have to wonder: what's in it for the tree?

Why spend all that energy building tunnels and doors so a bunch of insects can move in لماذا تبذل كل هذه الطاقة لبناء ممرات وأبواب لتتمكن مجموعة من الحشرات من الدخول

and suck out your precious bodily fluids? وامتصاص سوائلها الثمينة؟

Because ants are very protective of their home. السبب أن النمل حماة جيدين لموطنهم.

It's really interesting to note we're in this barren spot right now. ||||||||безплідне місце||| إنه لأمر مثير للاهتمام أن نلاحظ أننا في هذه البقعة القاحلة الآن

You notice there's no other plants around us. حيث تلاحظ عدم وجود أي نباتات أخرى.

And this is caused by the ants, they actually clear out parts of the rainforest because وحدث هذا بسبب النمل، فهي تزيل فعلياً أجزاء من الغابة المطيرة

they want their tree to get more sunlight so that it can grow. لأنهم يريدون أن تحصل شجرتهم على أشعة شمس أكثر لتنمو.

Think about that. فكر هكذا!

If a branch or vine from another plant touches their tree, they'll sting it, bite it, and ||||виноградна лоза|||||||||||| لو أن غصناً أو كرمة من نبتة أخرى لمست شجرتهم، سيلدغونهل ويعضّونها

cut it out of the way, like tiny gardeners. ||||||||садівники ويقطعونها عن الطريق، كبستانيين صغار.

Both species put in work, both species get something in return.

Good old mutualism!

Plants that house ants are called myrmecophytes. ||||||мірмекофіти النباتات التي تستضيف النمل تسمى بـ"النباتات النملية". Planten die mieren huisvesten worden myrmecophytes genoemd.

But not all plant/ant relationships are so evenly balanced. ولكن ليست كل علاقات النمل بالنبات متوازنة دائماً.

Acacia trees house ant bodyguards that are so aggressive they can repel an elephant, تستضيف أشجار السنط (الأكاشا) حرّاساً من النمل وهم عدائيون جداً لدرجة أن بإمكانهم طرد فيل،

and in return, they get nectar. وفي المقابل يحصلون على الرحيق.

But the tree laces that meal with an ingredient that keeps the ants from digesting nectar |||infuses|||||||||||| |||переплітає|||||||||||| لكن الشجرة تربط هذه الوجبة مع بعض المكونات التي تمنع النمل من هضم الرحيق Maar de boom combineert die maaltijd met een ingrediënt dat de mieren ervan weerhoudt nectar te verteren Але дерево додає до цієї їжі інгредієнт, який заважає мурахам перетравлювати нектар

from any other plant. من أي نبتة أخرى.

They're chemical slaves to their host. ||раби хімічної залежності||| كأنهم مستعبدون كيميائياً من مستضيفهم.

Now one tree of ants is cool, but we found another species that takes treehouses to the ||||||||||||||будиночки на деревах|| حسناً، لا بأس بشجرة واحدة من النمل ولكن وجدنا نوعاً آخرًا أخذ سكن الأشجار

next level. إلى المستوى الأعلى.

Aaron this is weird over here, we've been walking through dense rainforest all day long, آرون، هذاغريب نوعاً ما، لقد مشينا طيلة اليوم في غابة مطرية كثيفة

but we're in a clearing, we're not dodging branches, there's sun above us, what's |||||||ухиляємося від гілок|||||| لكننا في منطقة مقطوعة الأشجار، لم نبعد الأغصان منا وهنالك أشعة شمس فوقنا

happening here? ما الذي يحصل هنا؟

Yeah, this is a really strange part of the forest that we're in right now, and this حسناً، نحن الآن في جزء من الغابة غريب للغاية!

is called the Devil's Garden. |||Диявольський|називається Садом Диявола ويسمى بحديقة الشيطان.

The Devil's Garden, like did people come through and clear this out? حديقة الشيطان، هل أتى أشخاص إلى هنا وقطعوها؟

Is this clear-cutting in the forest? هل هذا اقتطاع للأشجار في الغابة؟

It's actually entirely caused by ants that live with this plant. في الواقع من تسبب في كل هذا هو النمل الذي يعيش في هذه النبتة.

What they're doing is they're clearing out all the space around it and only letting their فما يفعلونه هو إزالة المساحة كاملةً من حولهم

home plant survive

These plants grow little bulbs called domatia, little ant houses! ||||||домівки для мурах||| تنمّي هذه النباتات بصيلات صغيرة تسمى بتجاويف الحماية، كبيوت نمل صغيرة! Deze planten groeien kleine bolletjes genaamd domatia, kleine mierenhuisjes!

To keep the ants happy, the plant pumps out pre-packaged meals called food bodies. |||||||викачує||||||| ولإبقاء النمل سعيداً تضخ النبتة وجبات معلبة تسمى أجسام غذائية. Om de mieren tevreden te houden, pompt de plant voorverpakte maaltijden uit die voedsellichamen worden genoemd.

And in return, the ants offer protection. وفي المقابل يوفر النمل الحماية.

Just like tiny Ant-ony Sopranos. ||||Ентоні|Сопрано تماماً مثل أنطوني سبرانوز.

Think about how weird that is.

This plant grew these hollow bulbs seemingly for those ants without even knowing that ants فهذه النبتة تنمّي هذه البصيلات المجوفة للنمل كما يبدو

exist.

And in return that plant gets protection from things like caterpillars that might want to وفي المقابل تحصل هذه النبتة على الحماية من بعض الأشياء كاليرقات التي قد تريد

eat its leaves and those ants get protection by being up off the rainforest floor, where أكل أوراقها، والنمل أيضاً يحصل على الحماية بوجوده بعيداً عن أرض الغابة

there's things like spiders and flies that want to lay eggs so maggots can eat their ||||||||||||личинки мух||| حيث يوجد العناكب والذباب التي تريد أن تضع بيضها

brains.

It's a real "you scratch my back, I live inside your hollow bulbs" relationship/ إنها حقاً علاقة " أنت تحك ظهري، وأنا أعيش داخل تجويفاتك"

And they're clearly very successful at it, because the ants will climb out of their little ومن الواضح أنهم ناجحون في ذلك، ويعود السبب أن النمل سيتسلق خارجاً من منازله الصغيرة

homes, onto the ground and just destroy any other competing plants in the area. إلى الأرض ويدمرون أي نبتة منافسة في المنطقة.

They're really active, they're out all over this right now, I think they think we're إنهم فعلًا نشيطون فهم منتشرون على طول هذه حالياً

plants that are trying to come in here and grow. ويعتقدون بأننا نباتات تحاول ان تأتي إلى هنا وتنمو.

So they come down onto the forest floor, do they like eat, do they chop them down like لذا ينزلون إلى أرض الغابة.هل يأكلونها؟ هل يقطعونها

leafcutters? листорізи كقاطعات الأوراق؟ bladsnijders?

How do they control that growth? كيف يتحكمون بهذا النمو؟

So it's really cool, they'll actually inject, with their stinger, formic acid into |||||||||жало||| إنه في الواقع لأمر رائع، فهم يستخدمون شوكة لحقن حمض النمليك

the plant, which sort of melts it away kind of like this herbicide. |||||розчиняє|||||||гербіцид في النبتة، وهو يذيبها مثلما تفعل مبيدات الأعشاب.

Yeah, all along this root I see those little black ants from the tree. نعم، فعلى مدى هذا الجذر أرى نفس النمل الأسود الصغير من الشجرة.

They've wiped out this little seedling here. |||||young plant| |||||Вони знищили цей маленький паросток тут.| فقد أزالوا النبتة التي هنا.

It's dry and crackly and dead, they're doing forest control right before my eyes. |||crispy|||||||||| |||тріскучий|||||||||| إنها جافة وهشة وميتة، إنهم يسيطرون على الغابة أمام عيني!

The line between cooperating and being a parasite is like this thin. |||співпраця|||||||| لكن الخط الفاصل بين أن تكون متعاوناً أو طفيلياً هو بهذه الرقة.

If these yellow Allomerus ants move in, they castrate the fruits, so instead of devoting ||||||||||||||allocating resources |||Алломерус мурахи|||||каструють плоди||||||присвячувати فلو دخل نمل الألوموروس الأصفر فإنه سيخصي الثمار. Als deze gele Allomerus-mieren naar binnen trekken, castreren ze de vruchten, dus in plaats van te vreten

energy to reproduction, the plant produces more food and shelter for the ants.

Fun fact: this plant is also known as "huevo de gato", which I'll let you translate yourself. Цікаво: цей||це||||||яйце кота||кіт|який||||| معلومة طريفة: تسمى هذه النبتة "huevo de gato" وسأدعكم تترجمونها بأنفسكم. Leuk weetje: deze plant staat ook wel bekend als "huevo de gato", die ik je zelf laat vertalen.

Adios huevos. |Прощавайте, яйця. وداعاً أيها البيض. Adios huevos.

That's so awesome that some of the rainforest's smallest residents can shape it in such incredible Це|||||||дощового лісу|найменших мешканців||||||| إنه لأمر رائع أن بعضاً من أصغر سكان الغابة بإمكانهم أن يشكلوها بهذه الطرق المدهشة.

ways. أجل، فالنمل يعتبر القوة المسيطرة على الحياة هنا في الغابة المطيرة، إنه أمر مدهش.

Yeah, the ants are the dominant life force out here in the rainforest, it's incredible. Ja, de mieren zijn de dominante levenskracht hier in het regenwoud, het is ongelooflijk.

Yeah, I found that out the hard way, but man thanks for showing us that, that is so cool. نعم، لقد اتضح لي هذا الأمر بالمشقة، ولكن شكراً على توضيحك لنا، لقد كان رائعًا.

Alright, stay curious! حسناً، ابقوا فضوليين!

Um, I thought of a joke. طرأت في بالي نكتة.

What did the Pink Panther say when he stepped on an ant mound? ||||Рожева Пантера|||||||| Wat zei de Pink Panther toen hij op een mierenhoop stapte?

What's that, Joe? ماذا يا جو؟

Dead ant, dead ant, dead ant dead ant dead ant! نملة ميتة، نملة ميتة، نملة ميتة، نملة ميتة!

There are so many cool insect plant relationships in the rainforest. هنالك العديد من العلاقات الرائعة بين الحشرات والنباتات في الغابة

Our friends from Deep Look joined us in Peru and they made a video about ant/plant betrayal. |||||||||||||||||зрада أصدقائنا من قناة "Deep Look" انضموا لنا في البيرو وصنعوا مقطعًا عن الخيانة بين النمل والنبات

Head over to their channel to check it out. توجهوا لقناتهم لمشاهدته Ga naar hun kanaal om het te bekijken.

Alright, we have a tradition on this show.

Whenever we make an ant video, I've gotta get stung, so let's see what happens. فكلما نعمل مقطع عن النمل، لا بد أن أتعرض للقرص، لنرى ما الذي سيحدث

Oh that sucks. أوه هذا سيِّئ

No that does not feel good. لا هذا لا يبدو جيداً

Oh, that's… it's different than a fire ant, it's not as hot, but it's definitely a little هذا... إنه مختلف عن النمل الناري، إنها ليست بنفس الحرارة ولكن، إنها بالتأكيد

more needle-like. أشبه بالوخزة أكثر

And piercing. |І пірсинг. وحادّة

I don't like it very much. لم تعجبني أبداً

Aw she's really going to town. إنها تؤدي عملها بجدية Ze gaat echt naar de stad.

Look at that. انظر إلى هذا

Ooh, it's very sharp, ahh, we're done with this idea, I think we're finished. إنها حادة جداً، لقد انتهينا من هذه الفكرة، أعتقد أننا انتهينا

Oh it hurts so much worse afterwards. ||болить||||після цього إنها تؤلم أكثر بعد ذلك

That's the last time I mess with this tree. Це|||||||| هذه آخر مرة أعبث فيها مع هذه الشجرة

Stay curious! Залишайся допитливим!| ابقوا فضوليين

I'm getting away from this thing. وأنا سأبتعد من هذا الشيء.