Lectures on Tap - Nature's Nemeses: The Epic Battle Between Ants & Termites

Professors, experts, and storytellers giving thought-provoking lectures in Boston bars. 📍 Location: Exact address given in confirmation email 🧠 Lecture: "Nature's Nemeses: The Epic Battle Between Ants & Termites" 🎤 Speaker: Dr. Kat Angier Join us for a fascinating dive into one of nature’s most intense rivalries: ants versus termites. Both insects evolved complex societies independently, with queens, workers, and soldiers collaborating in colonies that can number in the millions. Yet, despite their similarities, they are locked in a relentless evolutionary arms race. Dr. Kat Angier will guide us through jaw-dropping termite defenses—from towering, cement-hard mounds to soldiers that spray acid from nozzles on their faces—and the terrifying raids of Singing Ants, who march into battle with elite strike teams and surprisingly sophisticated “field medicine.” We’ll also explore species of ants that have “switched sides,” defending termites in exchange for food and shelter, and meet the strange mammals—pangolins, anteaters, aardvarks, and aardwolves—that specialize in devouring both ants and termites. Dr. Angier is a Harvard-trained biologist who studies and loves bugs, with fieldwork on termites in the Republic of the Congo and ants in Kenya, and has led one of the oldest entomology clubs in the U.S. Get a drink, connect, and learn at Lectures on Tap! 🙌 Agenda 6:30 PM – Doors open: find a seat (open seating!), order food & drinks, and expect a bar line—arriving early is key. 6:55 PM – Host introduction 7:00 PM – Lecture begins 7:45 PM – Audience Q&A 8:00 PM – Have 1:1 time with the speaker, mingle with fellow guests, and order another round 8:30 PM – Wrap up.