Is the longest ant species 2.4 inches long? Do ants mate for life? Do wasps live everywhere in the world except Ant-arctica? You might not know and, frankly, neither did the Ant-Man and the Wasp cast, which is why we tested their insect knowledge with a very special game of True or False. Spoiler: Michael Douglas didn’t do too well.
Our entertainment editor Lauren O’Callaghan recently sat down with Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly and Michael Douglas and ambushed the trio with a set of ant and wasp-related questions.
First up: Ants are as old as dinosaurs – true or false? It is, of course, true – Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly answered correctly – but poor Michael Douglas, already looking perplexed by the question, answered wrong. He’s meant to be the original Ant-Man for goodness sake!
Next, do wasps live everywhere except Antarctica? Evangeline Lilly must’ve been swotting up because she got the answer right: they do live everywhere except the harsh climes of Antarctica.
The third question – do ants mate for life? – saw the roles reversed. Lilly again showcased her ant-based knowledge by making sure we all knew that ants only “bang the queen”. Thanks for that mental image, Evangeline.
Michael Douglas, meanwhile, didn’t even hear the question properly. I’m still putting that down as a wrong answer, Mikey. Paul Rudd got it right, though, dragging him into second place behind seemingly renowned myrmecologist (trust me, I Googled that) Evangeline Lilly.
Finally: is the longest ant species 2.4 inches long? It is, in fact, not. The Queen Driver ant is a smidgen under 2 inches. Google is getting quite the workout today, but nothing compared to Michael Douglas, who managed to creep up out of nowhere and give us the only correct answer of false. Evangeline Lilly – who won the game – and Paul Rudd both got it wrong. Tut, tut.
Still, never let it be said interviews aren’t informative. Today I learned that Evangeline Lilly is a world authority on ants.
Ant-Man and the Wasp is out in the UK on August 3.
