Post AiDdttYVKHUjR31YpM by linebyline@bytetower.social
(DIR) More posts by linebyline@bytetower.social
(DIR) Post #AiDIsD8vQoS0ZHPpDc by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-05-24T10:37:40Z
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It’s such a privilege to share my home with living breathing royalty. I check on her in the morning since she’s least likely to be disturbed. They are nocturnal and she’s been up all night laying eggs and being fussed over by her daughters. At this time of day she’s sleeping deeply enough that she won’t stir of I remove the light cover. Sleeping Beauty! I never settled on a name for her. She’s just “the queen” —
(DIR) Post #AiDJueWogUJw2GJobQ by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-05-24T10:49:20Z
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I wonder if she dreams of that bright day when she had wings. When she flew over NYC looking for seat for her empire? I don’t think ant memory works like human memory— (though they *do* remember AND learn.)Ants radically reshape their brains to suit each stage of life— the parts of her that knew of flying are probably as gone as her wings—Maybe she dreams of the feeling of her daughters massing around her in such great numbers that they all feel that impulse to produce new queens & drones.
(DIR) Post #AiDKG85DzjhVmPeaWW by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-05-24T10:53:22Z
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@elan Sometimes! Though he’s very … youTube influencer styled (which is the only way to make such work a sustainable profession) but I think it harms the quality of the content— he used to make much better but less “viral” videos. But at least it gets people thinking about ants. So I can’t be a hater.
(DIR) Post #AiDKfyCNMtIkeVJv5E by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-05-24T10:57:48Z
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@dch The workers sleep for only a few minutes at a time but take dozens of naps a day. The queens can sleep for up to several hours!
(DIR) Post #AiDKlf0XdGa6s1Ux96 by bovaz@mastodon.online
2024-05-24T10:58:27Z
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@futurebird Intellectually, I know this is right, but I always expect queens to be way larger. The movie Alien influenced me on that.
(DIR) Post #AiDKoNYMz3SnbacLCK by HauntedOwlbear@eldritch.cafe
2024-05-24T10:59:21Z
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@futurebird he totally got Small Owlbear into ants, so I appreciate him for that @elan
(DIR) Post #AiDLDgBwp8ngePC5a4 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-05-24T11:04:04Z
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@bovaz I think people sometimes expect all ants to have dichthadiiform queens like termites. But to have such a large queen means she can’t run while physogastric and certainly can’t fly. So only the species with “army ant syndrome” have those huge fat queens.
(DIR) Post #AiDNQvi4dfOgS6fOV6 by falcennial@mastodon.social
2024-05-24T11:28:55Z
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@futurebird so awesome. many lives.
(DIR) Post #AiDOK2uzXX3GjfzSXA by wcbdata@vis.social
2024-05-24T11:38:52Z
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@futurebird @bovaz Words! 🤓
(DIR) Post #AiDPJ5EJYktXZO8K0G by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-05-24T11:49:49Z
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She must have been a sight to see flying. Ants are chaotic, awkward flyers… even I can admit they aren’t very good at it. Don’t even tuck in the legs. “landing gear” stays fully splayed for the duration of flight: they don’t know when or where they’ll run into something. You have flying black creature the size/shape of a larger wasp hurtling through the air —legs out: if ants could scream you’d hear a tiny “ahhhhh!” as they went by. (no wonder they tear off the wings with such gusto)
(DIR) Post #AiDPTuhb2e0w6VzgIq by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-05-24T11:51:45Z
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@wcbdata @bovaz There are so many fun words in myrmecology for “junk in the trunk”
(DIR) Post #AiDPtL1yI0kB05eCrg by wcbdata@vis.social
2024-05-24T11:56:24Z
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@futurebird Human anatomy has some great ones, too. The Old Dead Men just said "that little flat space on the other side from the bendy part of your elbow, y;know?" and then translated it into latin to make it sound all fancy. 😆
(DIR) Post #AiDPyz24zWnIVmOEcq by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-05-24T11:57:28Z
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Some arboreal worker ants of genus Cephalotes are famous for their ability to use their flat bodies to glide when they jump off a tree branch. They are able to glide back to the trunk of the tree so they can more quickly return to their nests in the rainforest canopy. I wonder if there is any connection between the neural structures required for worker gliding and those for queens flying. Because isn’t flying really just falling with an excess of grace?
(DIR) Post #AiDReFYMZYZfZojPlY by bovaz@mastodon.online
2024-05-24T12:16:06Z
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@futurebird @wcbdata I'm sure someone less tired than I am could craft a great pun here, bringing Sir Mix-a-Lot into the world of ants, for the betterment of humanity.
(DIR) Post #AiDdttYVKHUjR31YpM by linebyline@bytetower.social
2024-05-24T14:33:14Z
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@futurebird Thats an excellent way to describe taking what should be a drag and turning it into something uplifting. :)
(DIR) Post #AiECj5ARJHSMevLc8G by pamelarosiedee@mastodon.social
2024-05-24T21:03:06Z
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@futurebird I have been alive for quite a long time, but only today after reading your post did I think to ask the internet “do ants have lungs”
(DIR) Post #AiEQmvVKZs6nCqqYGu by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-05-24T23:41:12Z
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@pamelarosiedee No lungs but they do breathe. They have little pores all over their body to absorb O2