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b'There isn\\u2019t much on Earth quite like an ant colony or a beehive. Lots of animals are social, but relatively few are eusocial. It\\u2019s a bizarre lifestyle, living in large multi-generational colonies with lots of members who don\\u2019t reproduce but instead dedicate their lives to protecting and nourishing the offspring of the few reproducers. In this episode, we discuss the many questions surrounding this phenomenon, including how many times this trait has evolved, why it\\u2019s apparently so beneficial, and exactly how natural selection could even produce such a strange lifestyle. \\xa0\\nIn the news: venom evolution, pointy things, early rainforests, and bone origins.\\nTime markers: Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00News: 00:05:00Main discussion, Part 1: 00:39:00Main discussion, Part 2: 01:15:00Patron question: 02:02:00\\nCheck out our blog for bonus info and pictures:http://commondescentpodcast.wordpress.com/\\nFind merch at the Common Descent Store! http://zazzle.com/common_descent\\nFollow and Support us on: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/CommonDescentPCFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/commondescentpodcastInstagram: @commondescentpodcast YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCePRXHEnZmTGum2r1l2mduwPodBean: https://commondescentpodcast.podbean.com/ iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-common-descent-podcast/id1207586509?mt=2\\nThe Intro and Outro music is \\u201cOn the Origin of Species\\u201d by Protodome. More music like this at http://ocremix.org.\\nMusical Interludes are "Professor Umlaut" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/'