A (2:09)

Well, Mark, I think it was a mashup of the words ipod and broadcast.

D (2:14)

I mean, what if cast is like a hard bandage? Did the whales break a fin?

C (2:18)

It makes no sense.

A (2:20)

Well, what should we call them?

D (2:22)

How about Audio Buddies? Or what about earpasodes? Or stay with me, Sonic Smorgasborgs.

A (2:33)

Well, whatever you call them, we're glad you found ours. We love being your audio buddies.

D (2:38)

And for one audio buddy to another, consider joining Smartypass. You get all our earpisodes ad free, plus bonus earpisodes and access to our soon to be announced book club.

E (2:52)

Woop woop.

A (2:53)

And you support us so we can keep making shows like this one. It's a fun and easy way to say thanks for this sonic smorgasbord of science, history, debate and more. Join by going to smartypass.org okay, Molly.

D (3:07)

What if it's pod cast like Peas in a pod. That makes more sense.

A (3:15)

This pea is proud to be in a pod with you, pal.

D (3:18)

Oh, come on.

B (3:22)

Brains On.

A (3:29)

You're listening to Brains on, part of the Brainzon universe. I'm your host, Molly Bloom, and my co host today is Kian from Bloomington, Indiana. Hi, Keon.

B (3:38)

Hi, Molly.

A (3:40)

So you live in Bloomington right now, but you're about to move to India, right?

B (3:46)

Yeah.

A (3:47)

What are you looking forward to about moving to India?

B (3:52)

Well, I'm looking forward to the food and seeing my family and playing on my Nintendo Switch and being rich.

A (4:00)

Those all sound like excellent things. Okay, so do you know if there are, like, animals that you'll be able to see where you're going to live that I'm sure you can't see in Indiana right now?

B (4:10)

Oh, yeah, Lions.

A (4:12)

You're gonna be able to see lions. Very exciting. What's your favorite food that you're gonna eat when you're there?

B (4:18)

I don't really have one.

A (4:20)

Is there, like a sweet that you like?

B (4:23)

Oh, yeah, definitely. They're called motichiulados. They're these small little orange balls and they're just so good.

E (4:36)

Brazen.

A (4:39)

Today's episode is based on a question that you sent to us. Yeah.

B (4:44)

I asked, can a spider eat a wasp?

A (4:47)

Okay, so what made you think of this question?

B (4:50)

Well, I know there are really big spiders, which actually, I think can eat wasps. And also I know wasps have really nasty stings, which made me think, can a spider eat a wasp?

A (5:09)

So generally, what do you think of spiders?

B (5:12)

I think of them as really cool arachnids.

A (5:16)

And what are your general thoughts about wasps?

B (5:19)

Oh, I've seen people being stung by a wasp and it looked nasty.

A (5:25)

Yeah, it does hurt. I have been stung by a wasp. It is not fun. When you sent in this question, what did you think the answer was? Did you think a spider can eat a wasp or can't eat a wasp?

B (5:37)

I think a spider could eat a wasp.

A (5:40)

Well, before we get to the specifics of who can eat whom, let's meet these two remarkable critters. Announcer, give us the scoop, please.

E (5:50)

Two fearsome foes. One a fabulous flyer, the other a total webhead. It's wasps and spiders. In this corner, we have wasps.

B (6:10)

Float like a butterfly, sting like a me, a wasp.

A (6:14)

Buzz, buzz.

E (6:15)

Don't mix them up with bees. Wasps tend to have skinnier waists and less fur than their buzzy cousins. Some wasp wasps have serious stingers. Others are harmless to humans. And plenty of them are downright gorgeous, like the cuckoo wasp, which is Shiny green like a jewel.

B (6:40)

Why wear bling when you can be bling?

E (6:44)

Some wasps are pollinators. Others hunt insects. The biggest wasps are around 2 inches long, like the size of a Lego minifig. The smallest wasps are teeny tiny. They're called fairy wasps. And some of them are about as long as the width of a human hair. Let's give it up for wasps. And in this corner we have spider.

A (7:22)

Look at these lovely limbs. Eight is great.

C (7:25)

You know what I'm talking about, huh? Octopuses.

A (7:28)

Aw yeah.

E (7:29)

Pretty much all spiders have two things in common. They make venom and spin silk. But that doesn't mean you have to fear these walking wonders. Most are no danger to people. But if you're a bug, watch out. Some trap beetles in their webs. Others make trap doors in the dirt. They hide in a hole under that trapdoor until a bug walks by. Then they jump out and snag it.

C (8:00)

It's like doordash. Something walks by my door and I.

A (8:03)

Dash out and eat it.

B (8:05)

Yum.

E (8:06)

Most spiders eat bugs, but some larger ones have been spotted catching and eating birds. And how about those webs? Look out. Not only is it super strong stuff, but it can do amazing things. Some spiders let out a small thread of silk, then it catches the wind and pulls them up into the air and they float away like a little eight legged kite.

A (8:34)

That's what us spiders call surfing the World Wide Web.

E (8:38)

Let's give it up for spiders. Those are the players. The stakes are high. Who will eat whom? We'll find out soon. Back to you, Molly.

A (8:57)

Well, it looks like we're ready for the main event. To find the answer to your question, we've invited Dr. Paula Cushing from the Denver Museum of Nature and Sciences to join us. She's the senior curator of invertebrate zoology.

B (9:09)

Hi Dr. Cushing.

C (9:11)

It's good to be with you today.

A (9:13)

We are very happy that you're here.

B (9:16)

So my question is, can a spider eat a wasp?

C (9:20)

You bet. Spiders can eat wasps and wasps attack spiders. So we know that wasps have a stinger and they can sting their prey. So yeah, spiders can eat wasps, but they have to be really careful when they do it. So if a wasp gets caught in the web of a spider, it's a pretty big insect. And so the spider can feel that something big and maybe scary has gotten caught in the web. So what the spider will do is it rushes down and it turns its body around and it throws silk all over the wasp to trap it in silk so that the wasp can't sting it. And then the spider can go back down to the wasp and it can bite through that shroud of silk and inject venom into the wasp.

B (10:15)

So how do spiders eat?

C (10:19)

So they don't have chewing mouth parts. They can't chew up their food like we do. So instead what a spider does is when it catches an insect, it catches it by using silk and venom. So they have venom glands inside their head region, and they use fangs to inject the venom through the hard body of the insect to kill it. And sometimes they'll wrap the prey and soak first before they bite it. Sometimes they bite it first, and then what they do is through their mouth, which is a separate opening in their body, they vomit stuff called digestive enzymes. These proteins that get all over the insect's body, get inside the insect's body through those holes they've just poked inside the insect using their fangs. And those enzymes, they break down the tissue, they make it all liquidy. And then the spider just sucks up that liquefied pre digested tissue. Whereas when we eat, we chew it up and swallow it. And all the breakdown of that food happens inside our bodies. With spiders, it happens on the outside.

A (11:38)

So spiders spit up enzymes onto their prey and that melts the prey until it's a slushy bug milkshake. Then the spiders just slurp it up wild. Are there any bugs that spiders can't eat?

C (11:53)

If they can catch it, they can eat it. But there are some insects that spiders in general don't like to eat. For example, not very many spiders like to eat ants, because ants, they can sting or they can spray acid on something that's threatening them. They can attack en masse. And so for most arthropod predators, including spiders, they kind of stay away from anything that even looks like an ant. For the most part, most spiders are generalist predators. What that means is they don't really care. They'll eat just about anything as long as they can catch it. But there are other species of spiders that prefer certain kinds of prey over others. There are even spiders that will specialize on eating ants. And they have evolved, they have developed over time these special hunting behaviors that allow them to catch the ants without getting hurt themselves.

A (12:58)

I'm guessing this is hard to pick, but do you have a favorite spider?

C (13:02)

I do not. I just have favorite questions.

A (13:07)

Excellent. So what's a question that you're interested in right now?

C (13:10)

So I've always been interested in these spiders that live inside ant nests. With ants like that's crazy. How do they get past that? Like, none of us as humans would walk willingly across an ant nest because we know that we would get all stung and the ants would attack us. But there are some spiders that actually live inside the nest with the ants. So I am really fascinated with how that co evolution has occurred. How has the spider evolved to live with the ants? And I, we've been studying this group of spiders that not only live inside the colonies of ants, but they eat the ants. So the ants are somehow letting their own predator live inside the colony with them. And to me, that's kind of crazy.

A (14:11)

That's really cool.

B (14:12)

How did you get interested in spiders?

C (14:17)

I grew up in the Washington, D.C. area, and as a high school student, I got a job at the Smithsonian Institution at their natural history museum in the insect zoo. So I got to work with the live insects, and I became really fascinated with what are called arthropods, insects and spiders. Then when I went to college, I did some volunteer research in the laboratory of a biology professor who did research himself on spiders. I just stayed in the field. I really liked it.

B (14:58)

Thanks for answering my questions, Dr. Kushin.

C (15:02)

You are more than welcome, Kian. It was a fun conversation. Thank you for asking such good questions.

A (15:13)

So Dr. Cushing told us that spiders can eat wasps. I was also really surprised when she told us that some wasps eat ants and some ants let wasps live inside their colonies. That is very interesting. Something else that I'm very interested in right now is the.

B (15:34)

Mystery sound.

A (15:37)

You ready for the mystery sound, Kion?

B (15:39)

Yes, please.

A (15:41)

All right, here it is. Whoa. What do you think, Keon?

B (15:57)

I think it's like concrete scraping against some metal or some chalk scraping against a side sidewalk.

A (16:08)

Okay. I am very convinced about your chalk against a sidewalk guess. Very good guess. Let's take one more listen, though. Do you have any other thoughts?

B (16:28)

Well, I also think it's like a bucket of water scraping against some concrete or some rocks.

A (16:39)

Very good guesses. We are going to hear it again. Get another chance to guess and hear the answer at the end of the show.

B (16:46)

So keep listening.

A (16:53)

We're working on an episode about what we call different generations. My parents are baby boomers. I'm a millennial. And you, Kian, are part of a group called Generation Alpha. These different generation names don't mean a whole, whole lot. So we're wondering if you could give your generation a new name, what would it be? Kion, what name would you give your generation?

B (17:15)

Generation Captain.

A (17:19)

Tell me more. Why?

B (17:21)

Because another name for Alpha is Captain.

A (17:26)

Well, listeners, we want to hear from you record your answer. What name would you give your generation and why? And send it to us@brainson.org contact.

B (17:36)

While you're there, you can also send in mystery sounds, drawings and questions.

A (17:43)

That's brainson.org contact.

B (17:46)

Thanks.

A (17:51)

Brains. Brains. Brains.

B (17:56)

You're listening to BrainSong. I'm Kion.

A (17:59)

And I'm Molly.

B (18:00)

And we're talking spiders and wasps.

A (18:03)

We just found out that, yes, spiders can eat wasps.

B (18:08)

But, Molly, we need to tell them about the flip side.

A (18:13)

Oh, absolutely we do.

B (18:15)

There are wasps that eat spiders.

A (18:19)

Bet you didn't see that one coming.

B (18:21)

And if you did, high fives.

A (18:24)

And these wasps are called. Wait for it. You'll never guess. Spider wasps.

B (18:32)

I bet someone guessed that. It's kind of exactly what you name a wasp that eats a spider.

A (18:39)

Yeah, you're right. There are several different kinds of spider wasps, and they can be found all over the world. They're usually dark in color, sometimes shiny, sometimes with stylish orange or yellow accents.

B (18:52)

There's a really cool kind called Wait for it. You'll never guess. Tarantula hawks.

A (19:00)

Now, that one I did not see coming. A hawk. A wasp called a hawk. Mind blown.

B (19:08)

Yeah, it's a pretty big wasp. Imagine a wasp, but as big as a hot wheel car.

A (19:15)

Whoa. I guess that makes sense if they eat tarantulas, because tarantulas are very big spiders.

B (19:22)

They can be as big as the palm of your hand.

A (19:25)

If they weren't so furry and cute, I would find that disturbing, but I don't.

B (19:30)

In Venezuela and Colombia, some spider wasps are called mata caballos.

A (19:39)

Don't be scared by the name. It might mean horse killer. But they don't kill horses. They're just big and intimidating.

B (19:49)

These wasps get some pretty metal names. In Brazil, they're called throat lockers.

A (20:00)

So now you might be thinking, what do these wasps do to earn these names? Let us set the scene.

B (20:09)

Spider wasps live alone, not in hives.

A (20:13)

When it's time for a female spider wasp to lay an egg, the hunt begins.

B (20:19)

She spots a spider, she attacks, she stings the spider.

A (20:25)

And now the spider is paralyzed. It can't move. The spider wasp will then either dig a hole to put the spider in or drag the spider to a nest or hole that was already around.

B (20:39)

Sometimes the spider wasp will cut off the spider's legs to make it easier to transport.

A (20:47)

Then the spider wasp lays an egg right on the abdomen of the spider. That's the middle part of the spider.

B (20:55)

Next, this mama spider wasp will Cover the hole and leave the egg to grow.

A (21:02)

Eventually, a larva hatches from the egg and starts eating the spider, which is still alive. As it grows, the baby spider wasp keeps eating the spider, leaving its heart and brain for last. So the spider will stay alive as long as possible while it's being eaten.

B (21:24)

Brutal and amazing.

A (21:27)

Coming up. Spiders are great at catching prey, and we're going to hear about some really creative methods they use. Right after we check the mailbag. Okay, let's see here. Oh, this is a good one. A really good one. A really super duper fantastic one.

B (21:49)

My name is Beatrix. I live in San Francisco. I realize that the beeping tune that's played before the listener mail sounds like it contains Morse code. So I tried decoding it, and I think it says brains on. Am I right? If I'm right, that's so cool, Beatrix.

A (22:05)

This is so exciting. Mark is the one who embedded this mystery in the message, so I'm gonna let him tell you.

D (22:13)

Beatrix, you're so smart. Those dots at the beginning are in fact, Morse code. And you are, in fact, in fact correct. That's how you spell brains on in Morse code. And since Morse code is a way to send messages, I thought that sound would be a good way to signal that we're getting messages. Plus, it sounded kind of musical to me, so I just had to put some fun sounds with it. High fives, Beatrix. And by that, I mean high fives in Morse code.

A (22:52)

Incredible work, Beatrix. We are all so impressed with your astute ears and decoding skills. Thank you for writing Hit it. Morse code. Want to hear Brain Zone without the ads? Just subscribe to Smarty Pass. Not only will you get ad free feeds of all of our shows, that's brains on smashboom. Best forever ago and moment of, um. But you'll also get the warm, fuzzy glow that comes with supporting the shows you love. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your support. Ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba. Brains on. And we're back. We've heard about spiders that eat wasps and wasps that eat spiders. But there are a lot of cool ways spiders trap the insects they're going to eat. And do you know what this means, Kian?

B (23:43)

That biodiversity is a wonderful and amazing thing to behold.

A (23:48)

Yes. And it's time to activate game show mode. Today's game show is called Spidey Sense. I'm going to tell you about a way a spider catches prey, and you're going to tell me the name of the spider you ready? Okay, here's the first question. This kind of spider actually eats other spiders. They climb on another spider's web, then they shake it to pretend like they are a bug stuck in the web. That other spider thinks, ooh, I got a meal. But when they walk over to check, the first spider catches them and makes them the snack. What is this kind of spider called? Is it a trickster spider, B liar spider, C cannibal spider, or D pirate spider?

B (24:47)

Trickster spider.

A (24:49)

The answer is actually pirate spider. I hope he has a little eye patch and a sword. Next question. This kind of spider only eats male moths. So they snag the males by making a sticky ball of silk and dangling the ball of silk in the air. The amazing part, thanks to chemicals in this spider's webbing, this ball actually smells like a female moth. So the male moth smells that and thinks, hey, there's a female nearby. They come to check it out, but they end up getting eaten instead of going on a date. This spider is called a dating game spider. B moth eater spider, C bolas spider, or D cupid spider.

B (25:42)

Moth eater spider.

A (25:46)

Excellent guess. They are moth eaters, but they're actually called bolas spider because bolas means ball. So the little sticky ball of silk they're named after.

B (25:55)

Oh.

A (25:59)

Here is our last one. There's a kind of spider that traps its prey by spitting on it. What does the spit do when it lands on the prey? It A, dries and sticks the prey in place. B it fizzes and then paralyzes the prey. C it makes a loud sound and makes the prey dance. Or D it turns purple and leads the prey to spin in circles.

B (26:32)

A. Correct.

A (26:35)

That's exactly what it does. It dries kind of like glue and the prey is stuck there. Excellent work, Kion. This has been spidey sense.

B (26:55)

Spiders are amazingly cool creatures.

A (26:58)

There are spiders that eat wasps.

B (27:00)

There are also wasps that eat spiders.

A (27:04)

And a huge variety of ways that spiders catch their prey. That's it for this episode of brains on. This episode was produced by Molly Bloom, Marc Sanchez and Sandon Taunton. It was sound designed by Mark Sanchez, who also wrote our theme music. Special thanks to Dan Arndt, Rachnomir Chandani and Ken Taborski at Code of the north for his website help. Okay, Kion, are you ready to hear that mystery sound again?

B (27:29)

Definitely.

A (27:31)

Okay, here it is. Okay, Kion, you were pretty confident in your first guesses. You talked about chalk or bucket of water on concrete. Did you hear something new or are you gonna stick with your Original guesses.

B (27:55)

The bucket of water.

A (27:57)

Okay, so we're still thinking concrete. Something being dragged on it. You think it's a bucket of water? Uh huh. Perfect. Let's hear the answer.

B (28:06)

My name is Margaret. I Live in Washington D.C. and the sound you just heard was me rubbing chalk on my front porch. Thank you.

A (28:16)

Chalk. Chalk. Kion, you were right.

B (28:19)

Oh boy.

A (28:20)

I'm gonna pretend the bucket guess never happened and that you were 100% right. Does that work for you?

B (28:25)

Uh huh.

A (28:34)

Now it's time for the brains honor roll. These are the incredible kids who keep the show going with their questions, ideas, mystery sounds, drawings and high fives. Anthony from Batavia, Illinois. Clara from Cincinnati. Reese from Dunedin. Flor. Beverly from Pasadena, California. Wesley from Brussels, Belgium. Sophia from Charleston, South Carolina. Ruth from Sunderland, United Kingdom. Vera from Atlanta. Stewie from Tampa, Florida. Ellie from Vallejo, California. Daniel and Charlotte from Anaheim, California. Ailish from Edinburgh, Scotland. Junia from Minneapolis. Ada from Richmond, Virginia. Matilda from Champaign, Illinois. Olivia from the Bronx, New York. Holden from Flemington, New Jersey. Seth from Atlanta. James from Harpenden, United Kingdom. Jack from Gilbert, Arizona Isla from Fort Worth, Texas Mia from Westerville, Ohio. Clara from Ayer, North Dakota Gannon from Harriman, Utah. Olivia from Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Daphne from Vancouver, British Columbia. Parth from Gurgaon, India. Mia, Rose and Ariana from Perth, Australia. Jade from Bethesda, Maryland Zade from Pennsylvania. Brannock from San Mateo, California. Otis from Campbell River, British Columbia. Milan From Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. Hawken from Red Hook, New York. Arlo from St. George, Utah Emmy from Rancho Santa Fe, California PJ from New Orleans. Luke and Connor from Hanover, Massachusetts. Elia from Waco, Texas. Aubrey from Concord, North Carolina. Emmett and Henry from Lafayette, Louisiana. Parker and Arlo from Oak Park, Illinois. Hartley from Virginia Beach. Sanaya and Cecilia from Arizona. Luna May from Richmond, Virginia. Toby from Aldi, Virginia. Ruby from Irvington, New York Greta from Barrington, Illinois. Astrid from Kansas City, Missouri Nate from Cleves, Ohio. Oliver from Littleton, Colorado. Momo from Hiroshima, Japan. Michael from Connecticut. Chris and AJ from Bergenfield, New Jersey. Revel from Baltimore. Rosie from Ypsilanti, Michigan. Imogen from Melbourne, Australia. Ruby from Spokane, Washington. Quinn from Calgary and Frances from Brooklyn, New York. We'll be back next week with an episode all about stomach acid.

B (30:21)

Thanks for listening.