Subtitles (16)
0:00This beetle is trying to mate with a beer
bottle. And in fact, he's dedicated enough
0:04to the task that he may get so dehydrated that
he dies doing it. Which seems like really dumb
0:10behavior… but don’t be too quick to judge, because
there’s something MUCH deeper going on here.
0:23The basis for this beetle-bottle blunder happened
long ago, as male jewel beetles evolved to seek
0:28out females’ shiny, bumpy brown shells in order
to mate. But, fast forward many, MANY years,
0:34and we humans are adding all sorts of new stuff to
the environment… including this particular type of
0:40beer bottle, which just so happens to share the
very same qualities that male jewel beetles are
0:45primed to seek out. In fact, these qualities are
more exaggerated in the bottle than in the beetle.
0:52As a result, the males get fooled into behavior
that’s, at best, not gonna get the job done,
0:57and at worst, could actually kill them.
Scientists call these kinds of collisions
1:00between an animal’s deep-seated instincts
and the modern world “evolutionary traps”...
1:00Now that we know how big a problem evolutionary
traps can be, we’re trying to disarm them,
1:04like by using diffused window film to
reduce reflections, and by limiting
1:08artificial light in urban and beachfront
areas. And in Western Australia–where those
1:12particular beetles and bottles coexisted–beer
manufacturers modified their bottle design,
1:17eliminating those super-sexy bumps and
ending the males’ misguided love affair.
