Post AmDuWSAM25aNSgIgXA by futurebird@sauropods.win
(DIR) More posts by futurebird@sauropods.win
(DIR) Post #AmDrddG0tVPY1cg9aq by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-09-21T08:35:48Z
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Velvet ants have two ways to defend themselves from scary threats: squeaking and stingingTheir sting is famous for it's power earning them the common name "cow killers" (they don't really kill cows, or people, however it's so painful people think it ought to kill a cow)Their squeak is objectively cute. Velvet ants have no notion of the relative power of these tactics and could deploy either one or both if frightened. "Oh yeah? Well I'm going to SQUEEK! How do you like that???"
(DIR) Post #AmDs3KQjW1WDAAwhxw by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-09-21T08:40:25Z
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There are also ants that squeak. Bullet ants squeak to warn that they may sting. You also do not want to be stung by a bullet ant. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJCa9NJT7zI
(DIR) Post #AmDsKOwC0hKQ47nltA by todymotmot@mastodon.social
2024-09-21T08:43:23Z
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@futurebird I would help a little squeaky ant if I could 🥰 (I've also been known to grab little bits of paper towel to save ants drowning in sink droplets as I swear to keep a cleaner house so it doesn't happen again.)
(DIR) Post #AmDtCwMJxy9xMF1sW0 by KleineMy@toot.community
2024-09-21T08:53:22Z
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@futurebird Do they really sting, or do they bite ?
(DIR) Post #AmDtGEFHv9kNhVJ8sK by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-09-21T08:53:59Z
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@KleineMy They are wingless wasps and it's definitely a sting.
(DIR) Post #AmDuKMgKb5WkyfUdFY by mansr@society.oftrolls.com
2024-09-21T09:05:54Z
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@futurebird Ni! Ni!
(DIR) Post #AmDuWSAM25aNSgIgXA by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-09-21T09:08:03Z
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@s_unter Technically they are wasps. But I say close enough. (I mean in a very real sense ants are also "wingless wasps")
(DIR) Post #AmDxGf2Qhqeec4kro0 by hazelnot@sunbeam.city
2024-09-21T09:38:52Z
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@futurebird @s_unter@tech.lgbt ...damn, I knew ants are related to bees and wasps but didn't think they were actually wasps o.o
(DIR) Post #AmDxeKrXN2CYzOwtdY by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-09-21T09:43:09Z
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@hazelnot It's one of those situations where "wasp" doesn't have a meaningful enough definition that includes and excludes everything you'd expect.
(DIR) Post #AmDxlnmwDud4jDMGFU by hazelnot@sunbeam.city
2024-09-21T09:44:30Z
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@futurebird Damn I looked it up and yeah bees and ants are both subsets of waspsI love this kind of stuff, like how we're all technically fish because of how clades work
(DIR) Post #AmE7LmDURZEVrl0SMi by KleineMy@toot.community
2024-09-21T11:31:50Z
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@futurebird OK, but why are they called ants then? Do they show the same social behaviour? Excuse my questions, but I'm not very deep into the ant/wasp world. :-)
(DIR) Post #AmE7ju6SlyVdHBDy6q by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-09-21T11:36:13Z
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@KleineMy They are called ants just because they look like true ants?They aren't social at all. They live alone, although if you keep them as pets they will live peacefully together. They make really great pets if you have a little desert terrarium and can be housed with death feigning beetles
(DIR) Post #AmEAheRGLG4dycZR8S by sbourne@mastodon.social
2024-09-21T12:09:25Z
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@futurebird Calling that a squeak shows a hearing range bias. That is absolutely a terrifying roar!
(DIR) Post #AmEHPd17aWiy2BhEZs by MishaVanMollusq@sfba.social
2024-09-21T13:24:36Z
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@futurebird the .357 Magnum of stinging ants
(DIR) Post #AmGaddyD816kUPeRZA by twipped@twipped.social
2024-09-22T16:09:00Z
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@futurebird how cute is that tiny microphone tho
(DIR) Post #AmGagyPHbNAGk1tyMa by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-09-22T16:09:59Z
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@twipped It's so perfect. And I'm floored that "ant sounds" are kind of exactly what I expected they'd be. The poor girl biting the microphone is so *angry* stay away from her nest!
(DIR) Post #AmGbHNXpcK4Z88GAXQ by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-09-22T16:16:34Z
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@michaelgemar @twipped They do! Although I don't know if bullet ants do. The bullet ant sounds can be heard by large vertebrates and is more of a warning I think. Leaf cutter ants make a lot of noise but it's out of range of human hearing. When cutting leaves the ants make happy little sounds that tell their sisters how good the leaves are in that area, and if they need more help, or if the leaves are almost gone. There is an album of music based on such ant songs...https://kuaishen.tv/stridulation-amplified.html
(DIR) Post #AmGbjPU20DipFdqfuS by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-09-22T16:21:36Z
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@michaelgemar @twipped They don't have ears as we'd know them, they *feel* sound through their legs and sense it with the tiny hairs on their body. They are sensitive to subtile vibrations that we can't detect... but also probably miss a lot of the sounds traveling through air unless they are very loud. So in some ways they have better hearing, in another sense they are deaf. To an ant, hearing and touch are blended together ...
(DIR) Post #AmGf4uQISptP9Y2qhM by pascaline@mastodon.nl
2024-09-22T16:59:09Z
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@futurebird Wow, thanks, this is so good ❤
(DIR) Post #AmGi4wKlewlqwSAIOu by mkb@mastodon.social
2024-09-22T17:32:47Z
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@futurebird This is fascinating! I had no idea ants made sounds! How common is it? Do some species make sounds through means other than vocalization (eg, the way crickets do)?
(DIR) Post #AmH16HY4AURG9jjs5g by llewelly@sauropods.win
2024-09-22T21:05:44Z
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@futurebird @michaelgemar @twipped since those same hairs (or setae as I'm sure you've heard many a pedant say) respond to static electric charges as well, this must be a complex mixture of sensations for them to sort out.