Post AoKXkt60IRfVE2hdPE by railmeat@fosstodon.org
(DIR) More posts by railmeat@fosstodon.org
(DIR) Post #AjBG6iSUZSTRU8rFQW by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-06-22T08:49:31Z
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There is a really crazy paper where they did the "mirror dot" test for self recognition on ants. BUT. It's in the "Journal of Science" which isn't "Science" ... and it's odd to have an insect paper not in an insect journal.And this is their webpage:https://www.journalofscience.netListen I just want this paper to be real, but it's kind of out there and the journal IDK.
(DIR) Post #AjBOhD3X5SRaRK5zea by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-06-22T10:25:45Z
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Here is the paper. It was widely discussed ... on reddit for a long time I didn't think it was real. Ants are painted with dots that match their exoskeletons, some are painted with blue dots. The ants are observed interacting with a mirror. I've seen this experiment mentioned as a reason why calling the mirror dot test a "test for self awareness" is flawed: a lot of people really don't like this result.Still, the journal gives me pause. What do you think?https://www.journalofscience.net/showpdf/MjY4a2FsYWkxNDc4NTIzNjk=
(DIR) Post #AjBP3OkIJ0eN47g3hg by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-06-22T10:29:45Z
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The other reason I'm skeptical is ants have very poor vision with a few notable exceptions. I don't know if ant would react to a mirror at all. I will try this with "the girls" later today and see what happens. Will post about this again.
(DIR) Post #AjBPAiSbPCG0EitL9s by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-06-22T10:31:04Z
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@enriquericos I'm going to try it with my girls and see what happens. I have never given them a mirror because I didn't think their vision was acute enough to make anything of it. They react to touch, and to pheromones much more than what they see.
(DIR) Post #AjBPTUM84Mhvziobfk by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-06-22T10:34:30Z
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@enriquericos The perils of amateur myrmecology! I suspect that entomologists have already discussed, laughed at, or made some other conclusion on what this is. But, I will be here in the Bronx trying to solve the replication crisis by myself with an iPhone in macro mode and a box of ants.
(DIR) Post #AjBPnLDrjiXJSZPtCK by wa7iut@mastodon.radio
2024-06-22T10:38:00Z
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@futurebird @enriquericos New York Ants!
(DIR) Post #AjBR6jnSh7Fr8CsZF2 by NatureMC@mastodon.online
2024-06-22T10:52:46Z
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@futurebird Great! I'm curious. For the mirror test: Frans de Waal was one of the behaviour scientists who said (very short form) that the mirror test could be too anthropocentric and completely disregards the fact that intelligence and self-perception can exist also with different non-human abilities. (Like experiencing the world by touch/pheromones). His book: https://wwnorton.com/books/Are-We-Smart-Enough-to-Know-How-Smart-Animals-Are/ @enriquericos
(DIR) Post #AjBRWRbWxKq0EnYXwm by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-06-22T10:57:25Z
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@enriquericos @NatureMC There's an audiobook version! Nice. My bus ride entertainment is sorted for the next week!
(DIR) Post #AjBRpKvC1jLz0slHfc by sbourne@mastodon.social
2024-06-22T11:00:25Z
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@futurebird My guess: they're going to cover it with sand.
(DIR) Post #AjBRuR52YWzZYvnbtI by nev@bananachips.club
2024-06-22T11:01:13Z
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@futurebird yeah, that's one of the major problems with the mirror test—what if the animal isn't primarily visual?? Another caveat is that not all *humans* pass the mirror test! It's surprisingly culturally loaded.
(DIR) Post #AjBT6kIp0uPmbmgAU4 by NatureMC@mastodon.online
2024-06-22T11:15:10Z
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@futurebird As you say it ... A "Journal Of Science" using Comic Sans as type font... that can't be real, can it? 😎 😱 😂 Even Wikipedia doesn't know it. JOS is officially the Journal of Official Statistics.Unfortunately, we have lots of fake papers/scam publishers, often even written by ChatGPT.They also have typos e.g. in the menu: Man(u)script! A publisher can't write manuscript???That smells of generative AI-fakes.But I'm sure that your ants are intelligent even without a mirror test!
(DIR) Post #AjBTBhuhK87se9lFdw by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-06-22T11:16:06Z
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@NatureMC It's been around for too long to be LLM stuff. I really don't know what the heck is going on with this paper.
(DIR) Post #AjBUTQeeKXKiHnGjOC by NatureMC@mastodon.online
2024-06-22T11:30:29Z
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OMG, I searched for the female author. In French, you find information that she is already retired and worked indeed with ants. But her studies were often rejected be renowned papers.I found an interview with her in a "magazine" which is *very* dubious, as well as what she talks. Conspiracy scene ... "Wifi grills ant's brains" ... It's good to stay sceptical!
(DIR) Post #AjBVcrDV2gFZE9d5TE by NatureMC@mastodon.online
2024-06-22T11:43:11Z
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@futurebird Meanwhile, I found the author 1 in French texts, she's ... very special. In an interview for a creepy conspiracy "magazine" she tells very upset that the university had forbidden her to breed insects and make experiments. She gave ants psychopharmaka, nicotine or Knorr soups to prove that all this will kill people.The woman is real but her work is 🥶
(DIR) Post #AjBXwkQkBQXvsbR89w by nathaliaassaad@mastodon.world
2024-06-22T11:57:43Z
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@NatureMC @futurebird @enriquericos I already placed a hold on my audiobook from the library (using Libby) and I have to wait about two weeks, but this gives me time to finish my current book. Thank you for this recommendation!I am of the opinion that we have declared human intelligence as a positive trait erroneously and that animal intelligence is far superior. The proof? How we destroyed our planet and everything on it.
(DIR) Post #AjBelOSYEHwyERoa0G by NatureMC@mastodon.online
2024-06-22T12:51:40Z
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@nathaliaassaad You're welcome. Well, but de Waal also claims that humans as part of the animal kingdom have a chance for hope: they can be social and with empathy, too. Perhaps we should learn from social insects and animals like wolves? Evolution is about cooperation ... we still can act against destruction even if the times at the moment seem bad.@futurebird @enriquericos
(DIR) Post #AjBelPm5L9AaJJxh5c by ClimateJenny@mastodon.social
2024-06-22T13:21:22Z
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@NatureMC @nathaliaassaad @futurebird @enriquericos I’m currently reading this book about plant intelligence, which people who don’t spend much time around plants might find eye-opening. TLDR: plants are aware of the world around them and respond with agency and informed judgment. (Well, duh!) My main beef with the book is that it keeps lapsing into animal-based models to discuss plants. https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-light-eaters-zoe-schlanger?variant=41096248295458
(DIR) Post #AjBkP6y7BAGNL5KwPw by justafrog@mstdn.social
2024-06-22T13:43:19Z
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@sbourne @futurebird If it isn't covered with sand, it clearly should be.
(DIR) Post #AjBkP8EoSZDLHA9n5E by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-06-22T14:28:57Z
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@justafrog @sbourne Ants have often tested humans for self awareness. They placed objects in our homes and were shocked we didn't cover them in sand. "Although humans build interesting nest & show signs of cooperation, can they really have rich inner lives like ants? Unlikely."They laid pheromone trails & we ignored them. "Even a newly eclosed callow or a termite could have followed these trails! Human intelligence is perhaps similar to that of a lichen... or perhaps an aphid at best."
(DIR) Post #AjBkha6Bc23gtgv3Sq by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-06-22T14:32:21Z
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@justafrog @sbourne Everyone knows, when you see a thing and it is not a sister or part of The Nest it is best to cover it in rocks to make things Safer and more lovely for you and your sisters. Everyone knows this. Except for humans, apparently. Maybe in the future they will evolve.
(DIR) Post #AjBkvfWyDHCjnZAGum by elala@nrw.social
2024-06-22T14:34:46Z
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@futurebird 😁
(DIR) Post #AjBl1hO2E4HVI9rPua by cshlan@dawdling.net
2024-06-22T14:35:56Z
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@futurebirdI feel like it's difficult to separate self awareness from understanding mirrors in this test. Our dog, seeing herself in the mirror, has run down the hall checking every room "behind" the mirror. I suppose to find "the other side". She understands windows but not reflections. She'll ask to go outside at night when I'm reflected in the door while sitting at my desk then turn around wanting back in immediately when I'm not outside. How does any of that comment on self awareness?
(DIR) Post #AjBl6SYWnGxUk82Siu by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-06-22T14:36:49Z
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@whatzaname @justafrog @sbourne Meanwhile the aphids have no opinions on any of this, because they really are serene creatures to a fault with no thoughts at all. If you have ever seen an aphid being eaten by a ladybird... you will understand. The aphid is not concerned or troubled by her demise, her little black eyes simply drink up the lovey green of her world right until the end.
(DIR) Post #AjBmCr4MfLl6ShXl0S by jonquass@techhub.social
2024-06-22T14:49:08Z
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@futurebirdI'd love to know what you find. If the experiment is repeatable that would lend the idea some credibility.
(DIR) Post #AjBnaShszrhNo5qku8 by diemure@mastodontech.de
2024-06-22T15:04:38Z
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@futurebird @whatzaname @justafrog @sbourne Oh to be an aphid in a ladybirds warm embrace
(DIR) Post #AjBoMJXsMVdBIEz9iy by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-06-22T15:13:15Z
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@michaelgemar @whatzaname @justafrog @sbourne I've seen ants struggling to get them away from a hungry ladybird... and it's hard not to read the body language and increasing roughness of the ants with their charges as exasperation.
(DIR) Post #AjBp47njO875bvIAVs by justafrog@mstdn.social
2024-06-22T15:21:13Z
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@futurebird @michaelgemar @whatzaname @sbourne I've never once seen evidence of a survival instinct in those things.They just set down, start feeding and that's it. That's their entire behaviour.They'll plop out babies which do the exact same thing, plopping out babies included.The reason the species survives beetle attacks is limited feeding capacity.
(DIR) Post #AjBqGGYmkScCCmedwO by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-06-22T15:34:27Z
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@justafrog @michaelgemar @whatzaname @sbourne "They're gonna eat you! Come on!""That's OK.""No it's NOT OK you'll be dead .. . and then where will I get my SUGAR. OMG.""It's OK. I like green.""AHHHHHH"
(DIR) Post #AjBqk3w2FhfTjkjn6m by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-06-22T15:39:58Z
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@whatzaname @michaelgemar @justafrog @sbourne That's not an "aphid ranch" that's a factory farm. LOL. Jeez. Ants overdo everything.
(DIR) Post #AjCR4qdySdTOwhV4vg by KateOfMind@mastodon.social
2024-06-22T22:27:07Z
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@futurebird @justafrog @sbourne Here's a novel that very much plays with those ideas https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/c46f145d-346a-4b7a-beb4-a7b986e0edb0
(DIR) Post #AjCR8yQLTagMEZ5oEC by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-06-22T22:27:52Z
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@KateOfMind @justafrog @sbourne I loved this series! Though I wish the ants played a bigger role.
(DIR) Post #AjCRtjBLxkE0ZZNGqG by KateOfMind@mastodon.social
2024-06-22T22:36:19Z
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@futurebird @justafrog @sbourne Indeed!
(DIR) Post #AjDkY5NQr3XBKDNUVk by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-06-23T13:40:05Z
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@mathew @justafrog @sbourne LOLI'm basically Phase V incarnate.(It's my favorite movie.)
(DIR) Post #AjDknPm5Ibj8vmDapU by nilz@norden.social
2024-06-23T13:42:30Z
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@futurebirdBut what about "Antz"?? /s @mathew @justafrog @sbourne
(DIR) Post #AjDl0pXIpUGMarhXIe by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-06-23T13:45:13Z
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@nilz @mathew @justafrog @sbourne We do not talk about Antz.
(DIR) Post #AjV9OVyzcbipx2BTE0 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-07-01T23:08:13Z
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Why do I have the feeling we failed yet another test from the ants today?
(DIR) Post #AjV9kQH1Wr2qcD42ro by justafrog@mstdn.social
2024-07-01T23:12:29Z
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@futurebird Next up in ant science: Are termites actually smarter than humans?subtitle: Termites are, like, extremely stupid, and ugly, and stinky, but humans could be worse.
(DIR) Post #AjWJYnVAXDelsfjgLQ by NatureMC@mastodon.online
2024-07-02T12:37:08Z
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@futurebird I do love this! 🥰
(DIR) Post #Amj8mRv2jSqUJogVN2 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-10-06T10:43:57Z
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I got around to showing a mirror to my ants. They did NOT react to it any differently than they reacted to a smooth piece of plastic with no reflections. They touched it and investigated both sides, but I saw nothing to indicate they saw the reflective side differently than the non-reflective side. I would love it if someone who keeps ants with better eyesight could try this with a Gigantiops destructor colony or an bull ant colony. I didn't put dots on the ants. Just showed them a mirror.
(DIR) Post #Amj9uSB3kuPROHYZsW by albertcardona@mathstodon.xyz
2024-10-06T10:56:34Z
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@futurebird Do highly visual insects like a large fly, a dragonfly or a mantis respond to the mirror test? I’d have started with these.
(DIR) Post #AmjAobpr2COHYqPoFU by krnlg@mastodon.social
2024-10-06T11:06:43Z
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@futurebird I love that description. Truly the most zen creatures! Apparently there are some types of aphid that have defensive morphs...? 🤯https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2022/05/first-record-gall-forming-aphid-fighting-predator
(DIR) Post #AmjBT0pnVXlwg4edRQ by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-10-06T11:14:03Z
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@krnlg There is something so ominous about this photo from that article. It's like seeing a wolf being mauled by baby bunny rabbits. Clearly aphids are like still waters. Simple and smooth on the surface... but with unknown depths of depravity.
(DIR) Post #AmjDemGPhtISs2qF04 by peachfront@toot.community
2024-10-06T11:38:34Z
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@futurebird ain't that the truth...
(DIR) Post #AmjEBrRJU5gSTmiPEu by falcennial@mastodon.social
2024-10-06T11:44:33Z
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@futurebird no lie detected.
(DIR) Post #AmjEI3FYUERcqWARE0 by falcennial@mastodon.social
2024-10-06T11:45:40Z
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@futurebird humanity too busy obsessing about the imaginary chemtrails in the sky
(DIR) Post #AmjHsUVKvqRHf6cGzg by tkinias@historians.social
2024-10-06T12:25:50Z
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@futurebird Well, this journal is included in Beall’s List so it’s almost certainly not legit.(Jeffrey Beall, librarian at CU Denver, used to maintain a list of what he called ‘predatory’ journals.)
(DIR) Post #AmjNTjRUr4WSTdOhU0 by asakiyume@wandering.shop
2024-10-06T13:28:38Z
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@futurebird I ADORE this.
(DIR) Post #AmjNs00Ew3xqmvDgRc by MishaVanMollusq@sfba.social
2024-10-06T13:33:01Z
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@futurebird Ha! I find the trails and if I don’t like where they are going I break them down chemically
(DIR) Post #AmjOCHd178rzFC1ttw by llewelly@sauropods.win
2024-10-06T13:36:42Z
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@futurebird I'm seeing this the 2nd (or 3rd?) time around, but this time I'm having a different reaction: Would ants see self-awareness as a desirable trait?? Or would they see it as a selfish defect, undermining and/or conflicting with colony-awareness?
(DIR) Post #AmjOmV4cbPtHMvD972 by MishaVanMollusq@sfba.social
2024-10-06T13:43:13Z
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@futurebird the mirror has no flavor
(DIR) Post #AmjQLBU3WplWhZD5vs by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-10-06T14:00:42Z
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@llewelly I think we need to ask what would ants mean by "a rich inner life" or "awareness" at all?Is it having a language-based conversation with yourself in your mind as we tend to think of it being the language monkeys?Or is it a feeling of being in synch or out of synch with the colony pheromone signature of the day? Is it tap tapping your sister and anticipating and getting the correct tap tap back?As an aphid is it "pulsing" together and knowing it is time to bite the moth larvae?
(DIR) Post #AmjRcO6RxnugiUw5SK by Wharrrrrrgarbl@an.errant.cloud
2024-10-06T14:15:00Z
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@futurebird @llewelly If anything is going to demonstrate a commitment to ant values and worldview, I can't think of a better audition than this:https://www.researchgate.net/publication/378821707_Performance_and_efficiency_in_leaf_transport_unveiling_the_task_allocation_puzzle_in_Acromyrmex_subterraneus
(DIR) Post #AmjUa3vuHg1vRZaT4a by tqwhite@mastodon.social
2024-10-06T14:48:12Z
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@futurebird @llewelly I asked GPT to entertain me based on your post. It did a great job.Interesting details about the comparison between us and "experience based creatures" at this link.https://chatgpt.com/share/6702a158-0f00-800c-aa01-d5ebfbac8365
(DIR) Post #AmjUfJ1Tbkavgxh0NM by tqwhite@mastodon.social
2024-10-06T14:49:08Z
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@futurebird @llewelly An example is"While our "language monkey" mind interprets and categorizes, it also creates separation—we experience an event and then narrate it, effectively splitting experience from analysis. In contrast, other animals may live more in the immediacy of their experiences, which could be described as "direct experience awareness." Their awareness is less compartmentalized, not as parsed into discrete units of thought, feeling, and action as it is with humans."
(DIR) Post #AmjUjzryFMtjjkU1Sa by tqwhite@mastodon.social
2024-10-06T14:50:00Z
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@futurebird @llewelly I felt like that was an interesting point. The separation form reality caused by our internal requirement to map things into language.
(DIR) Post #AmjzQBcpvUIcz6RDUW by Lokjo@mstdn.social
2024-10-06T20:33:47Z
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@futurebird Maybe if you try our map you can find local stores instead of the corporate ones, which is a great progress to begin with. ;)
(DIR) Post #Amkktdmh0SvOYsawN6 by SebastienLugan@mastodon.social
2024-10-07T05:25:45Z
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@futurebird Bernard Werber [author of *Les fourmis* (The Ants)] was right all along 🙃
(DIR) Post #AoJjluickj7MqA3xnk by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-11-23T00:20:09Z
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Making this into a little cartoon this weekend.
(DIR) Post #AoJkdnjWwM0SoTBMYq by VulcanTourist@autistics.life
2024-11-23T00:29:51Z
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@futurebird @whatzaname @justafrog @sbourne If I were an aphid, I'd be continually TERRIFIED: of being eaten alive by lacewing or ladybug larvae or enslaved by sugar-addict ants! That's not to mention humans and all their evil genocidal chemical warfare!
(DIR) Post #AoJl5IQKwSjbogJbrE by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-11-23T00:34:51Z
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@Gustodon I have mixed feeling about them. The are incredible. Remarkable in their own ways and very distinct from ants because they became eusocial on their own, in their own way. And they might do more remarkable things than ants ever do with... HVAC.But also... they are ant food.
(DIR) Post #AoJl89itkNkhhVMQrY by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-11-23T00:35:22Z
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@VulcanTourist @whatzaname @justafrog @sbourne Most aphids seem blissful to be the charges of ants... for better or worse.
(DIR) Post #AoJlSKOFnTYqZkK6ro by barrygoldman1@sauropods.win
2024-11-23T00:39:00Z
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@futurebird i love it! i hate that mirror test. never understood its significance
(DIR) Post #AoJltJjiKtnKMmEN5U by VulcanTourist@autistics.life
2024-11-23T00:43:53Z
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@futurebird @whatzaname @justafrog @sbourne Better for the ants, to be sure. Perhaps not worse for the aphids, either, since at least they guard their cattle from actual predation by those nasty larvae?
(DIR) Post #AoJq1kgaQDCU5A2s2y by staringatclouds@mastodon.social
2024-11-23T01:30:12Z
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@futurebird @justafrog @michaelgemar @whatzaname @sbourne So aphids are tribbles made real ?
(DIR) Post #AoJwVXLJCArP6yg7tY by amorphophalex@mastodon.social
2024-11-23T02:42:46Z
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@futurebird there's an xkcd comic like this. https://xkcd.com/638/But I think it's more an analogy for when humans send radio signals to outer space hoping alien life will respond back.
(DIR) Post #AoKXkt60IRfVE2hdPE by railmeat@fosstodon.org
2024-11-23T09:40:11Z
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@futurebird This is great
(DIR) Post #B1FwKz5BYbrFEt8YeO by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-12-15T00:39:25Z
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@sbourne Covering new things you don't understand with sand is VERY sensible. Something we could learn from the ants IMO.
(DIR) Post #B1FwaPZjLAKTkSmRzE by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-12-15T00:42:13Z
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OK this has gone on long enough!I'm breaking out the little ant-sized mirrors and the "bee safe paint!"I have black and yellow and will try this on some of my black carpenter ants.
(DIR) Post #B1FxSdSBxNwOQf6u00 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-12-15T00:51:59Z
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@Wyatt_H_Knott But they respond by cleaning themselves not attacking.
(DIR) Post #B1Fyp7IjlUhpKAyJTk by varx@cybersecurity.theater
2025-12-15T01:07:15Z
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@futurebird Having watched insects, I feel like they spend about half their time cleaning themselves anyhow.
(DIR) Post #B1G05I9nGsYRa346yG by Jestbill@mastodon.world
2025-12-15T01:21:22Z
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@futurebird There are ants that use their eyes more than other ants. They should be the only ones tested for visual self recognition.Need to come up with an appropriate ant mirror reflecting their touch or smell.
(DIR) Post #B1Gh9N0TTi2foCthLs by Landa@graz.social
2025-12-15T09:23:55Z
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@futurebird may I suggest a companion experiment?You wrote that you’re not sure if ants would react to a mirror at all, given they generally don’t rely on sight that much. Have you ever seen what happens when ants „meet“ through a piece of glass?Two parallel glass tunnels or two areas completely separated by a sheet of glass so that they can‘t touch or smell each other but would be able to see?#cognizANT #citizenScience
(DIR) Post #B1GuhG3p6maPW3x9cG by loyhena@eldritch.cafe
2025-12-15T11:55:43Z
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@futurebirdIt makes me think that I read once a paper about a "dot test" but for dogs. Instead of paint they used scent (though I can't remember the details of the "how") and they were saying we should have tests made especially for each species, because they don't use vision as much as us (and sometimes don't even have arms to touch it like manta ray)
(DIR) Post #B1Guz7JMNRm3aojh1U by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-12-15T11:58:59Z
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@Landa My ants travel in clear plastic tubes. Sometimes I've seen what happens when an ant who is from another colony is on the outside of the tube. They will track her visually. However, ants are so sensitive to pheremones I think this experiment would be tricky to set up. Not impossible but consider how this ant found a pinhole in one of these tubes. https://futurebird.tumblr.com/post/757551660417597440/when-ants-escape-they-are-predictable-they-either
(DIR) Post #B1Gv96mVCbssqS8Csy by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-12-15T12:00:47Z
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@Landa She could sense the this colony from *across the room* Honed in on a tiny hole in the tubing (that’s what she’s worrying at, it’s a hole I use to add water. )I think she wanted to fight them all.
(DIR) Post #B1GyiXD5EU5GoI9HF2 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-12-15T12:40:43Z
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@neckspike @Landa She was so belligerent!This spring and summer I want to focus more of my observations on how wild colonies interact with each other. They can’t possibly be this belligerent all of the time.I think the artificial environment may make it harder for colonies to find a truce— which they often do in the wild. 🐜❤️🐜
(DIR) Post #B1GzGM0VOJ1VuXOLGy by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-12-15T12:46:54Z
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@neckspike @Landa In the antkeeping hobby many people have wanted to keep multiple colonies of ants in the same enclosure to see how they interact. The trouble is you need a *very* large enclosure for this to end in any way other than one colony wipin the other out. Ants are very adept at assessing if they can completely eliminate another colony: in a controlled environment, usually one colony will have an advantage and that is the colony that will survive.
(DIR) Post #B1GzTgBjfYnkGYzySG by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-12-15T12:49:19Z
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However, in the wild, there are more variables. Ant colony wars are less inevitable. In urban and suburban environments most of the conspicuous ant wars you see are between ants of the same species, often sister colonies founded at the same time. These ants are Tetramorium sp., the pavement ant, when these ants live under suburban sidewalks the summer nearly always ends in war.