Post AhvJVUlsKJYRgo5UXI by Pierrette@mastodon.uno
(DIR) More posts by Pierrette@mastodon.uno
(DIR) Post #Ahtp4lixzoDMfP6gnw by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-05-15T01:04:23Z
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My nervous Formica subsericea colony. These are black field ants. When I turn on the light they panic. A newly emerged worker (called a callow) cowers as her sisters stampede over her. She is newly emerged and not strong enough to run and freak out. One of her sisters picks her up and she tucks her legs in like a pupae so she is easy to carry. In a few days she will be a lovely black like her older sisters.
(DIR) Post #Ahtpc1g5hZ7PhbcVbE by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-05-15T01:10:25Z
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That callow is about like me at most big social events. If only someone would pick me up and take me away from the chaos.
(DIR) Post #AhtquXVOCsiXa10Ryy by Lucia@eldritch.cafe
2024-05-15T01:24:47Z
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@futurebird That is adorable.
(DIR) Post #Ahts5rmFHDM1ajr6Om by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-05-15T01:38:12Z
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Some people think my notions about "ant body language" are a little much... but look at that callow, how her body is low to the ground, legs close to her body... that's how ants try to be inconspicuous, and it can mean they are scared, but not wanting to be noticed. There are two other callows in the nest and they were not pick up. Just the one who was frozen to the ground as everyone ran around in circles.
(DIR) Post #AhtsEqNLrBOvqpUaQa by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-05-15T01:39:52Z
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I don't know how running around in circles because there is light helps exactly... but they are very concerned that every ant can be a part of it...
(DIR) Post #AhttNuSg8Pd95Fs3RA by gmsizemore@mastodon.social
2024-05-15T01:52:40Z
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@futurebird How is this "language"? What's the going definition in the biological world?
(DIR) Post #AhtyqIxb8sJOwbgzNw by starrwulfe@social.vivaldi.net
2024-05-15T02:53:50Z
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@futurebird What’s up with the grayish one?
(DIR) Post #Ahu5GFCYL5weXaRJ1k by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-05-15T04:05:33Z
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@starrwulfe She just came out of the cocoon and her exoskeleton has not hardened.
(DIR) Post #Ahu5bILBrXGKMHW8Aa by starrwulfe@social.vivaldi.net
2024-05-15T04:09:34Z
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@futurebird Ahh ok, makes sense. Now I want to sit outside and observe the ant mound in my backyard and see if I notice any new ones coming out. Those lil ladies are fascinating and very necessary for the planet too. 🐜
(DIR) Post #AhucxLF934ueDboHVQ by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-05-15T10:23:21Z
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@starrwulfe They don’t let callows leave the nest. Really for the first months of their lives young ants do safe jobs inside the nest: feeding larvae, grooming their sisters and queen, and resting. The ants who venture out are the older ants and the further they go from the nest the older they are.
(DIR) Post #AhulO6ubEv7bDrTXOa by glennsills@dotnet.social
2024-05-15T11:57:38Z
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@futurebird @starrwulfe This might be a hardnosed but effective solution to the Social Security funding problem. (Don't tell any of my friends I said that because they are old like me... oh wait, this is social media...)
(DIR) Post #AhvIpD3FolVeZQ3LbE by KatLS@ohai.social
2024-05-15T18:12:21Z
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@futurebird I ❤️ your ant observations
(DIR) Post #AhvJFMFiEPe2dTLgZM by thepoliticalcat@mastodon.social
2024-05-15T18:17:11Z
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@futurebird When in trouble, when in doubt,Run in circles, scream and shoutI'm sure that's the black ant motto!
(DIR) Post #AhvJVUlsKJYRgo5UXI by Pierrette@mastodon.uno
2024-05-15T18:20:01Z
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@futurebird ❤️
(DIR) Post #AhvQYIv9XectU4iIvA by mzedp@mas.to
2024-05-15T19:39:02Z
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@futurebird Could it just be confusion about the sudden light change making them think its daytime? Like how animals will behave strangely during eclipses because of the sudden darkness making them think it's nighttime.
(DIR) Post #AhvS9ArCaLnx8y0hou by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-05-15T19:56:56Z
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@mzedp I don’t think so. Light in the nest means something has come to eat them —not all ants react like that to light. They have large eyes.
(DIR) Post #AhvbbiEH08hqLDU70a by thepoliticalcat@mastodon.social
2024-05-15T21:42:47Z
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@futurebird Same. I *seem* extroverted, but ten minutes with people, and I'm a mess, tryna sneak out without being noticed.