Post AhxBNIsgEvVVB8m0bg by futurebird@sauropods.win
(DIR) More posts by futurebird@sauropods.win
(DIR) Post #AhxAViUinET4yq0y3M by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-05-16T15:48:43Z
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The ant “foot” consists of a tarsal claw with two toes and the several segments above that I suspect are simply… well…floppy. Basically, I’ve seen no evidence ants can wiggle their ankles at will, but rather they seem to adjust the floppiness, or tension of the lower leg. The claws, however, show signs of dexterity, ants can control how sticky the soft pad of their foot is, but also seem to be able to grip and release with their claws. (how exactly are the muscles arranged?)
(DIR) Post #AhxAywLUNFk2KvdBEO by justafrog@mstdn.social
2024-05-16T15:54:00Z
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@futurebird You don't have a copy of Grey's Antnatomy?
(DIR) Post #AhxBExK4VbdC05bZNw by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-05-16T15:56:52Z
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For example I’ve seen an ant resting on the ceiling of her enclosure decide to fall to get food or avoid noise: she unsticks her feet and lets go with her claws and just drops like a stone. Ants will also deliberately fall down steep slopes to get to the bottom faster. It must be fun to be so featherlight
(DIR) Post #AhxBNIsgEvVVB8m0bg by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-05-16T15:58:04Z
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@justafrog Now you are making me so sad there isn’t a chunky compendium of just ant anatomy drawings… I don’t think anything like that exists— but it should.
(DIR) Post #AhxBnZ0QuT2OicvBiK by TrickTim@mstdn.social
2024-05-16T16:02:49Z
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@futurebird I am most fascinated by YOUR fascination with ants!As you probably hope, your passion is infectious. 🙂
(DIR) Post #AhxCFpP9X7opgdxfU0 by barrygoldman1@sauropods.win
2024-05-16T16:08:11Z
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@futurebird i used to wonder about the algorithms insects use for walking. if i take the slightest misstep it could mean broken bones or worse, but for a tiny bug? placing feet don't need to be so precise.
(DIR) Post #AhxCKraGrG65tTYx84 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-05-16T16:08:50Z
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It’s well-known that ants, unlike most insects, always keep three legs in contact with the surface they are traversing. They walk as if their legs are two tripods alternately swinging forward: so on either side they either have the front and back leg down OR the middle leg. Some ant mimics will try to approximate this distinctive gait to better blend in! Consider a spider holding two legs up in front (to mimic antennae) then, rather than creeping as spiders normally do, trying to waggle along!
(DIR) Post #AhxCSPAEPHLU4EylW4 by justafrog@mstdn.social
2024-05-16T16:10:08Z
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@futurebird Don't know if anyone is truly excited about peeling thousands of ant cadavers apart under a microscope.You'd need to do that for each species, too, to get a good grasp of normal variation within each one.Maybe if antomologists across the world pooled their effort for it?
(DIR) Post #AhxCY1GeANFjguenpY by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-05-16T16:10:48Z
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The tripod walk leads to queens who have a lot of “junk in the trunk” waddling— this makes it easy to identify ants in film and video even if you can’t see them clearly— they just move in an ant-y manner.
(DIR) Post #AhxCc3JSVI31C1tZvE by AchillesTang@mastodon.social
2024-05-16T16:10:56Z
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@futurebird Love the image of an ant rolling down a hill. Wheeeeee!
(DIR) Post #AhxConHfPU1DFF8IoC by llewelly@sauropods.win
2024-05-16T16:14:34Z
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@futurebird I am surprised. I thought keeping 3 legs in contact with the surface was the normal insect walk, with the exceptions mostly being insects who had highly modified a pair of legs to do something else (like mantids).
(DIR) Post #AhxGkD6UNwTngxyTgG by dalfen@mstdn.social
2024-05-16T16:57:43Z
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@futurebird Wow, that’s an impressive pic! Imagine seeing that coming at you 😳
(DIR) Post #AhxH8wesfJs5vYr5cW by Wharrrrrrgarbl@an.errant.cloud
2024-05-16T17:01:52Z
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@futurebird unsure if you have already seen this paper, and also unsure enough about ant anatomy to know if this mechanism involves the ankle you're thinking about, but this is describing a potentially relevant mixed muscular/hydraulic mechanism for ant grippieshttps://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.111139298
(DIR) Post #AhxJQlUz5xbORAqqTA by JGR0@mastodon.social
2024-05-16T17:28:25Z
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@futurebird I love your ant missives. Such cool little creatures.
(DIR) Post #AhxJn0cnXOEJik73bM by econads@mendeddrum.org
2024-05-16T17:32:38Z
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@futurebird And what's with the hairs? I had no idea ants had hairy legs.
(DIR) Post #AhxeOmxullRnRbHYHo by apophis@brain.worm.pink
2024-05-16T16:31:03.519893Z
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@futurebird until this post prompted me to look more closely i always thought (non-ant-mimic) spiders also did the four-legpair version of this e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dE2QPYKju04 but the more of these i look at the more it feels like the spiders are more or less "trying" to aim for this kind of alternation but can't quite ever get into the rhythmic flow when they have to start from a standstill or change direction or pacing in any way