Post AiWH72540ReAGVgO6C by benetherington@spacey.space
(DIR) More posts by benetherington@spacey.space
(DIR) Post #AiWEUeLbb6eJkHzR5s by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-06-02T13:48:18Z
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Here is my small nervous Formica subsericea. These are black field ants, you can tell them from carpenter ants because they are shiner, only come in one size (no majors with big heads) and their thorax has a dent rather than a hump. They also move differently from carpenter ants which tend to be more deliberate and less spastic. Today I gave them fruit flies and they have eagerly piled them up in front of the queen. Who looks like she just wants to go to sleep.
(DIR) Post #AiWEwMhenB5t8BWIz2 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-06-02T13:53:17Z
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Even the queen moves quickly. They are always fighting over who gets to carry what. There is generally a small clutch of eggs in the nest and I have never seen them set it down. An ant is always proudly holding the cluster of new eggs and she won’t let her sisters help her hold it. I think they must sit it down when it’s dark and quiet in the nest— but if I’m taking photos? well we never get to see them calm first that reason! Ants notice photographers! #formica #ants #antvideo
(DIR) Post #AiWFAO3KZTm9N3LNui by alexhaist@wandering.shop
2024-06-02T13:55:48Z
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@futurebird ...these may be the skittery ants that I complain about, if they come into the house! I am fairly tolerant of house ants, but we had a crop that would just skitter spastically across you.
(DIR) Post #AiWFR7xtdcBqOmmhYO by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-06-02T13:58:51Z
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@alexhaist They are very spastic. They are "calm" in that clip. When they really go into a full panic it's impossible to even film. The good news is they are not as interested as some of the smaller black ants are in living in a human house. They really do live up to the name "field ants" they like to be outside, they like fresh insects and have many relations with aphids and scale insects. They don't like carbs. Ants that infest homes tend to like carbs.
(DIR) Post #AiWFl0OlTpiOispYTg by alexhaist@wandering.shop
2024-06-02T14:02:24Z
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@futurebird probably just some extra flighty carpenter ants, then. They went bonkers for spilled Gatorade.
(DIR) Post #AiWFrLpygRzqx5aKxM by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-06-02T14:03:36Z
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@alexhaist They could still be field ants. Are there ever any that are bigger than the rest? or are they mostly the same size?
(DIR) Post #AiWG07hyaIpbjo1d0i by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-06-02T14:05:10Z
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All of their little gaster are so full. This colony is doing well. I wonder how many of them there will be by the end of the summer?Fat little ants.
(DIR) Post #AiWG3mvdmhdoRvAFKC by alexhaist@wandering.shop
2024-06-02T14:05:31Z
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@futurebird they all seemed largely the same size.
(DIR) Post #AiWGT7RUeTzFJM8qwa by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-06-02T14:10:26Z
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@alexhaist To be totally certian you need to look at this part. Camponotus (carpenter ants, many thousands of species) have a hump. Formica (field and thatching ants) have a dent.
(DIR) Post #AiWGekM6JZ4xBQAE8e by alexhaist@wandering.shop
2024-06-02T14:12:30Z
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@futurebird next time they show up, I shall examine them closely! Thank you!
(DIR) Post #AiWGk79Wyxt3KrqOHI by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-06-02T14:13:29Z
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There is something very "look mom! look!" about the way they always put whatever food they find right in front of the queen. As you can see she is very full. And very queen. I need to sign these ants up for some activities. They don't have enough to do, clearly.
(DIR) Post #AiWH72540ReAGVgO6C by benetherington@spacey.space
2024-06-02T14:17:37Z
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@futurebird @alexhaist Dromedary and bactrian ants.
(DIR) Post #AiWHLIzfv8Bim4y54K by SehrLesbisch@chaos.social
2024-06-02T14:20:10Z
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@futurebird I love the small moment of hesitation after one ant hands another the thingy, then steps forward and is now actually closer to the queen than the one it gave the thing torelatable tbh
(DIR) Post #AiWIkd20eqxY77hOMK by justafrog@mstdn.social
2024-06-02T14:35:59Z
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@futurebird Fat bottomed girls.
(DIR) Post #AiWJ4RigQMkap56oMa by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-06-02T14:39:34Z
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@justafrog They make the under-rock world go round!
(DIR) Post #AiWuAjOfJJrFgmbcVE by jonhendry@iosdev.space
2024-06-02T21:35:14Z
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@futurebird Do they see infrared?
(DIR) Post #AiWuo9PuVD2HgNz7ku by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-06-02T21:42:25Z
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@jonhendry Ants have poor vision in the infrared and even in red light, but enhanced ultraviolet vision, much like bees and wasps they can see colors we can't in the ultra spectrum.
(DIR) Post #AiWwDj8yuJuBgJpHF2 by Zeugs@social.cologne
2024-06-02T21:58:13Z
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@futurebird @jonhendry where does this make a difference is there aspects of things they notice, we can not see?
(DIR) Post #AiWx7WQdMyIqSjgiUC by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-06-02T22:08:20Z
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@Zeugs @jonhendry It allows some desert ants to navigate by the sun... something about polarized light that helps them to find their nest on hot sand where they can't lay pheromone trails. There may be other uses... but I don't know about them.
(DIR) Post #AiWxBryHDU36QyUslt by jonhendry@iosdev.space
2024-06-02T22:09:07Z
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@futurebird Perhaps an IR camera would let you watch them in the dark.
(DIR) Post #AiX0vphuGYUGazRsye by Zeugs@social.cologne
2024-06-02T22:50:58Z
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@futurebird @jonhendry Havents found any ant UV photos of ants but butterflies use UV to communicate(there is a wikipedia article). They must have some "reason" to see in that spectrum. If it's a navigation thing it would be interesting how it works.
(DIR) Post #AiX3qOoj7Aodc1juMa by Zeugs@social.cologne
2024-06-02T23:15:52Z
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@futurebird @jonhendry found it. It's for discriminating the sky and everything else as I understood it. There is a photo in the article.http://www.dictionnaire-amoureux-des-fourmis.fr/O/Orientation/Schultheiss-UV-Cata-AB2017.pdf
(DIR) Post #AiaCSqfoOUEgAtey2a by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-06-04T11:44:23Z
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@uastronomer This is interesting but another issue is keeping the ants (who are never still) in frame and in focus. I think this would just result in a bunch of photos of random blurry legs.
(DIR) Post #AiaCrdAPkPNZWbn5zU by tuban_muzuru@ohai.social
2024-06-04T11:48:51Z
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@futurebird @uastronomer I did some ant pics for someone last year - Here's something I found usefulhttps://youtu.be/DERZbOlYQw0?si=AM6_E5p8p3BJL_yV