Post AsgO3JEWF9jCnbkBAe by mansr@society.oftrolls.com
(DIR) More posts by mansr@society.oftrolls.com
(DIR) Post #AsgCkFTAugiO82J8QC by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-04-02T11:56:50Z
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In my office there is the most glorious house centipede. I see them each morning as I’m the first one to get in, and startle them from their nightly creepings when I switch on the lights. I’ve tried to catch them several times, but they are swift, and I don’t know if they would be safer in the basement than our office. I am terrified one of my coworkers will see them and crush them or toss them outside where it is too cold. Today they have bunkered themselves in a box of old exams.
(DIR) Post #AsgDG99NwYB5nSGGBs by DamonWakes@mastodon.sdf.org
2025-04-02T12:02:27Z
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@futurebird I remember spotting one of those on a visit to Canada and asking somebody local what it was. Turned out he'd never seen one before either.
(DIR) Post #AsgDJwodkFoKhSN1cW by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-04-02T12:03:18Z
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I need to let the other people in the office know about this centipede, who lives on a diet of spiders, who live, in turn, on smaller arthropods— it speaks of a complex ecosystem the size and elegance of this creature: deadly, delicate, a muderous chandelier with racing stripes. (for those of you in tropical climates please rest easy, this is not one of those snake like creatures it can’t hurt a human) At the bottom of the ecosystem are messy middle school students.
(DIR) Post #AsgDaDL64wi2a1JB9k by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-04-02T12:06:14Z
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I thought of putting a sign on the box, but that seems in contravention of “Project Try To Be Normal” I just don’t want anyone to be startled by the creature and kill it. I’ve seen that happen before and it’s very upsetting. I find if I let people know how helpful they are it’s possible to get people to leave them be. I hope no one needs to look up any old exams today!
(DIR) Post #AsgDb8EKYmAJ1Xa51U by catselbow@fosstodon.org
2025-04-02T12:06:14Z
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@futurebird "murderous chandelier" is a perfect description.
(DIR) Post #AsgDm2yoQ90tvSWkKG by InkySchwartz@mastodon.social
2025-04-02T12:08:17Z
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@futurebird oooh that's a good lesson in ecological webs.
(DIR) Post #AsgDsu8lgSVMXPSCLg by CynAq@beige.party
2025-04-02T12:09:33Z
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@futurebird you need to make the stakes higher. “If one of you kills this little guy, we’ll have roaches” might make the cut.
(DIR) Post #AsgDxgLQP6VVCNeUAi by fullyabstract@fosstodon.org
2025-04-02T12:10:27Z
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@futurebird I have to rescue house centipedes from my cats.
(DIR) Post #AsgEA0g4dEynjfBlQW by llewelly@sauropods.win
2025-04-02T12:12:40Z
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@futurebird normal to what? Normal to the plane?
(DIR) Post #AsgEhoKx1LURJ7QUV6 by artemis@dice.camp
2025-04-02T12:18:45Z
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@futurebird I struggle so much trying to unlearn my aversion to creepy-crawly critters.I've realized that it's terrible the way people respond with "kill it!" the moment we see a critter in our space, but that doesn't help at all making me comfortable with things scurrying around in the dark.
(DIR) Post #AsgFZsv0Ce1l9c4c4G by misterscience@mastodon.world
2025-04-02T12:28:32Z
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@futurebird House centipedes are a source of controversy in my house as I like them (for all the reasons you mentioned) but others really, really don'tNot sure why, but these creatures did not appear in my ecosystem until I was well into adulthood. Plenty of house spiders, small flies/gnats, stink bugs, random moths (and of course, ants) in houses I lived in, but not these apex arthropod predators
(DIR) Post #AsgIdQg7RMxGadUfSK by chriscz@social.linux.pizza
2025-04-02T13:02:46Z
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@futurebird I read on Wikipedia that they can live for 7 years and they eat cockroaches. I might invest in one, though my partner will need some convincing 😅 Te only part I feel mixed about is that they eat spiders also.
(DIR) Post #AsgJjvZZaYDC6C5uNs by australopithecus@mastodon.social
2025-04-02T13:15:11Z
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@futurebird You work with teachers; I'd recommend "these guys eat silver fish, and silver fish eat books".
(DIR) Post #AsgO3JEWF9jCnbkBAe by mansr@society.oftrolls.com
2025-04-02T14:03:29Z
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@futurebird > a murderous chandelier with racing stripesI love this.> At the bottom of the ecosystem are messy middle school students.And this.
(DIR) Post #AsgR6UisHWAzAH9XNY by MishaVanMollusq@sfba.social
2025-04-02T14:37:42Z
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@futurebird william burroughs is rotating six feet down right now
(DIR) Post #AsmihLX6YFPLypddk8 by Oaktag@infosec.exchange
2025-04-05T15:23:08Z
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@futurebirdI'd put up a sign with a picture. "This wild animal who lives in this room is my friend. His name is Luther. He is not dangerous to humans. He eats spiders. Please do not hurt him!"
(DIR) Post #AsmnKX1YA4BGjHoreS by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-04-05T16:15:03Z
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Did you know that house centipedes can live to be 7 years old? It takes them 3 years to reach adulthood, depending on how much food they can find. So, when you see an adult they have lived a long life and seen many mostly basement-themed things.
(DIR) Post #AsmnqqJXyZixp8e1I0 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-04-05T16:20:54Z
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The more legs they have the older they are.
(DIR) Post #Asmnx6qxOizYr7GBEW by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-04-05T16:22:01Z
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Seems unfair, I've gotten pretty old and still just have four limbs like when I started... hmph.
(DIR) Post #AsmoLKGNBwBrObhAjw by KateOfMind@mastodon.social
2025-04-05T16:26:21Z
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@futurebird OTOH...A centipede was happy – quite!Until a toad in funSaid, "Pray, which leg moves after which?"This raised her doubts to such a pitch,She fell exhausted in the ditchNot knowing how to run.
(DIR) Post #Asmp4ipQhkGIcDju40 by rlstone4dems@mastodon.social
2025-04-05T16:34:32Z
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@futurebird I didn’t know that centipedes can live so long.
(DIR) Post #AsmpBru1Mk9omkIKDw by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-04-05T16:35:50Z
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@domo That sounds annoying and alarming. Since you have evidence that ants may be nesting in the wood this means the wood is VERY soft. They can't generally make nests in wood that isn't very damp or dry rotted. Basically to get them to leave you need to find the source of the dampness or dry rot. Do you have any sense of how water might be in contact with the wood? Pipes? A leak? The silverfish are also there because of moist conditions.
(DIR) Post #AsmqMVla6jbXGqzBNg by Moss@beige.party
2025-04-05T16:48:57Z
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@futurebird I’m imagining a Chuck E Cheese but it’s themed on a house centipede who lives in the paper file boxes in the basement.
(DIR) Post #Asmr1i4hFaR9JjZVlA by hoco@sfba.social
2025-04-05T16:56:26Z
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@futurebird So, does that mean they have "baby legs" that grow up into "adult legs"?
(DIR) Post #AsmsZioZ6dhZPaoBbE by PizzaDemon@mastodon.online
2025-04-05T17:13:47Z
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@futurebird my shoe size increased. When I told a friend , she asked "Your foot grew?"I replied, " I think 'deformed' is the more accurate word"
(DIR) Post #AsmuoQSxo6OMl0qMuO by clew@ecoevo.social
2025-04-05T17:38:50Z
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Do they gain a segment to gain a pair of legs?@futurebird
(DIR) Post #AsmxPy1IDZadRevhLc by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-04-05T18:08:04Z
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@domo A basement will always have a few such creatures, that they are ants in silverfish rather than roaches means that as a tenet you're doing what you can in keeping things clean and not basically feeding them with food waste. It sounds like the building needs some deep work. If the landlord wants to avoid very expensive future repairs they need to invest now or pay more in the future. This isn't really your problem to solve.
(DIR) Post #AsmxaP3oXJ2iCq5LbU by valen1@mstdn.social
2025-04-05T18:09:55Z
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@futurebird My middle school students *Flipped out* whenever a house centipede made an appearance. Oh, the screaming! And they just won't believe you if you tell them that the poor things are harmless.
(DIR) Post #Asmxp5bd9MnaDEuCeW by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-04-05T18:12:33Z
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@domo They are both hibernating in the winter, so you would see fewer then. That this is a basement makes this a little less alarming... it really depends on if it feels like they are coming in from the surrounding soil OR if it seems like they have set up shop in the walls, which is what the seeing bits of sawdust like bits sounds like. If you can show me the sawdust I can tell if it's from ants or termites. If it's termites your landlord might get alarmed enough to really do something.
(DIR) Post #Asmy1LT40BWaskk5oW by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-04-05T18:14:48Z
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@valen1 I have worked so long and hard to get our students to be less excitable in that way. It's a multi-year project but it is possible. I start with pointing out that screaming won't do anything to help us calmly move the creature back where it belongs. Having look at macro photos of common creatures where you can see their eyes and they are doing something calm, like eating or cleaning themselves helps a LOT.
(DIR) Post #AsmyYSRd5DEa4orR6e by dx@social.ridetrans.it
2025-04-05T18:20:43Z
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@futurebird @valen1 My kid LOVES bugs right now and I hope they keep that attitude as they get bigger and older.
(DIR) Post #AsnSdazHkIEQe1y98y by sbourne@mastodon.social
2025-04-05T23:57:49Z
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@futurebird The only time we see our centipedes is when there is torrential rain and they come upstairs from the soggy basement. They're so fast!!
(DIR) Post #AsnSjKqOgAeQJYY4iO by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-04-05T23:58:56Z
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@sbourne Do you put up a little tent for them and hand out MREs like when there's a hurricane?
(DIR) Post #AsnXufIZTCUWi0wsUq by sbourne@mastodon.social
2025-04-06T00:56:57Z
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@futurebird No, but I do keep the kitties away!
(DIR) Post #AsneFmai9Q0n8Ht15k by msbellows@c.im
2025-04-06T02:08:02Z
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@futurebird Okay but that's only because you thought the newest leg bud was a mole and had it removed.
(DIR) Post #AsoVw9SIpLBzmK2dIO by willowwren@hcommons.social
2025-04-06T12:09:32Z
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@futurebird I've been trying to stay really open-minded reading about this bug, but it just keeps getting more horrifying. I'm deathly afraid of spiders, and this thing is like a spider's nightmare. It terrified me the first time i saw one in my house after moving to the east coast.
(DIR) Post #AtFujQ6jvntyJZLoZM by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-04-19T17:24:38Z
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@sbourne I suppose, to a kitty, a cellar centipede is kind of like a very exciting MRE. :/
(DIR) Post #B3938pfiXMfUKDr7HU by schratze@todon.nl
2026-02-09T12:36:50Z
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@futurebird that's so cool but I still hope I never encounter a house centipede in my life
(DIR) Post #B393FhxVc21OQlSL9k by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-02-09T12:38:08Z
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@schratze They pretty much feel the same.Just if you do keep in mind they are not evil or out to get you. They are insect predators and eat many other smaller bugs.
(DIR) Post #B393kU2nOfx0FgbVIG by schratze@todon.nl
2026-02-09T12:43:39Z
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@futurebird yeah, I know. It's just. I have arachnophobia and house centipedes look like spiders with twice+ the amount of legs to meI find spiders fascinating, I just don't wanna share my apartment with them lol
(DIR) Post #B394CefTUWKhJG82zI by Bumblefish@mastodon.scot
2026-02-09T12:48:45Z
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@futurebird @schratze I am reading this whole thread and wondering why nobody is mentioning how half their leg got numbed from the sting....do American centipedes not sting? And perhaps..are they not a foot long and as fat as a small person's finger?
(DIR) Post #B394c6fiVi99OyNWRk by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-02-09T12:53:22Z
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@Bumblefish @schratzeOh. no no no no I know who you are talking about and they do not live in places with winter. The "house centipede" (Scutigera coleoptrata) can bite, but it's like a bad mosquito bite maybe and it's hard to get them to even do it. It's this totally harmless but alarming looking creature:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scutigera_coleoptrata(as a totally harmless alarming looking creature myself I rather like them.)
(DIR) Post #B394pM88LdhX6qzJDs by Bumblefish@mastodon.scot
2026-02-09T12:55:45Z
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@futurebird @schratze We have winter. We had our one day of snow yesterday. But they live further north where there is more winter too.
(DIR) Post #B394vdhLwY0hKjSQcq by Bumblefish@mastodon.scot
2026-02-09T12:56:55Z
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@futurebird @schratze Ohhhh, gejegeje! Gejegeje are cute.
(DIR) Post #B39544vyZ5Ss7XJzWq by fullyabstract@fosstodon.org
2026-02-09T12:58:24Z
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@futurebird Which of these little creatures a given person is frightened of seems so idiosyncratic. My spouse is terrified of house centipedes, but I like them. But something deep in my subconscious probably accounts for my relatively mild fear of spiders. I can remember one dream from childhood that terrified me.
(DIR) Post #B395TqbgSKjjDM7Ll2 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-02-09T13:03:05Z
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@fullyabstract I'm scared of adult American roaches. I have a theory that they have learned they can sometimes intimidate humans by running right at your foot at full speed and thus escape. I keep feeder roaches for the ants (different species) and find them alarming. But if one of those massive boys comes running out of the boiler room when I'm trying to do the laundry I run away. (I can't even kill them and feed them to my ants because I worry they are full of god knows what)
(DIR) Post #B395wGAJ1XmoagrMi8 by fullyabstract@fosstodon.org
2026-02-09T13:08:12Z
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@futurebird I've lived in warmer places (I can still visualize them scurrying off when we turned on the light - ewww) where we couldn't seen to get rid of roaches, but thankfully not in recent years. If on travels with my spouse I see one, I can't tell her about it, because she'll be unable to sleep.
(DIR) Post #B3962zGQGFSACPvddg by amenonsen@mastodon.social
2026-02-09T13:09:25Z
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@futurebird Sorry to digress, but what kind of things could cockroaches contain that may harm ants? Are you thinking of pesticides, or are there parasites that could also infect the ants?
(DIR) Post #B396kWxeqojhA5umFE by wcbdata@vis.social
2026-02-09T13:17:16Z
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@futurebird TIL! 🤓
(DIR) Post #B39AsPKBWkrnbuSlpg by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-02-09T14:03:33Z
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@amenonsen They have a high tolerance for pesticides that kill many more beneficial and enjoyable insects.
(DIR) Post #B39kxJWu631VR53ENU by benchase@ohai.social
2026-02-09T20:47:45Z
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@futurebird I did not know that.And whether or not it’s true, it is now a tidbit that I shall put forth at parties. Because how fun!
(DIR) Post #B39vZ5EufsaDf4HiIS by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-02-09T22:46:42Z
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@benchase It's true although not in the most dramatic sense. Each time they molt they gain another pair of legs until they have 15 pairs total or 30 legs. As babies they only have 4 pairs of legs which is adorable. Once they have 30 legs they are adults and this could take about two years. They can live for seven or more years, so if you see one with 30 legs it could be two years old or much older. Fewer than 30 and you are looking at some kind of... centa...teen.
(DIR) Post #B3A0ejO7KY65Ol6Odk by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-02-09T23:43:42Z
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@amenonsen TBH I don't know if they'd be bad for the ants. Ants love to eat roaches. But when you are an antkeeper you get a little paranoid about what goes in their enclosure. There was a guy on the ant-forum who read about how you can make a barrier on glass that ants can't climb by first putting some rubbing alcohol. Then baby powder. Gassed his whole colony. So depressing. (in the field entomologists use a cotton ball with rubbing alcohol to quickly kill insects and preserve them.)
(DIR) Post #B3A0nbZpk0GlmMoWGG by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-02-09T23:45:21Z
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@amenonsen Ants can be so dynamic and robust. My carpenter ant colony in their 5th year with the same wonderful queen still laying eggs and keeping the several thousand alive. Carpenter ant queens have been documented living for up to 10 years. I hope they can beat that.
(DIR) Post #B3A0rtZKmzvGjqcsPg by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-02-09T23:46:08Z
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@amenonsen Antkeeping can be really emotional.
(DIR) Post #B3A17kaNxJqRVlg61g by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-02-09T23:48:54Z
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@dianea @fullyabstract I live in a NYC apartment building with over 250 units. I think I'd be worried if there weren't any bugs in the basement since it'd mean they'd spayed so much I'd worry I'd be next to drop dead. They are coming out of the sewer. I suppose they could put a mesh over it but there may be a good reason they don't such as clogs. Though I might feel different if I live on the 1st floor rather than rather high up. 🤣
(DIR) Post #B3A1Aaid6711mItAJM by vikxin@beach.city
2026-02-09T23:49:28Z
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@futurebird carpenter ant queens are so massive. There aren't really that many species of ant that get that large
(DIR) Post #B3A1ce1uNgii9gHcIK by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-02-09T23:54:34Z
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@vikxin She's a lovely huge ant. But ... well consider this dynomymex gigas queen. She's three times as long. They have the same temperament as carpenter ants, so rather docile, just... massive. Maaan sometimes I wish I could move to Malaysia This is an proper ANT
(DIR) Post #B3A1jhtCQi0Q9VZqWu by vikxin@beach.city
2026-02-09T23:55:50Z
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@futurebird that is a THICK gal
(DIR) Post #B3A1nWuTC2qLG4zhui by sundew@beige.party
2026-02-09T23:56:27Z
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@futurebird @vikxin GigANTic!
(DIR) Post #B3A1v3vgpEInh69m9Q by vikxin@beach.city
2026-02-09T23:56:53Z
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@futurebird I saw a velvet ant in the wild on a hike in SF once, before I knew that they had a horrible bite. I am...very glad I decided to just admire them from afar
(DIR) Post #B3A1v4r7NiEuZD1dfE by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-02-09T23:57:52Z
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@vikxin Yeah, probably not a good idea to pull this stunt with a velvet ant. :)
(DIR) Post #B3A2frntj4O3hIpWu8 by amenonsen@mastodon.social
2026-02-10T00:06:13Z
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@futurebird I was in Borneo recently, and went on a (short) rainforest walk at night. It was the guide, and a long line of people, and me right at the end. I mostly couldn't see what the guide was looking at far ahead, but he kept warning people not to touch certain things, including various trees with ants. So I saw a lot of ants. 🙂
(DIR) Post #B3A3MdT0uDSBgVSIXg by Nonya_Bidniss@infosec.exchange
2026-02-10T00:14:03Z
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@futurebird @vikxin Velvet ants are wasps though, yes? They have stingers, it's not a bite
(DIR) Post #B3AAZAey1LxRmgyGJc by chrispackham@mastodon.social
2026-02-10T01:34:44Z
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@futurebird PROFOUND SAME
(DIR) Post #B3ACtbbjjrHJ3tKd2u by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-02-10T02:00:45Z
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@SistaWendy @fullyabstract noooo
(DIR) Post #B3BJRS5IRi4QFrdlhY by ubi@ecoevo.social
2026-02-10T14:48:53Z
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@vikxin @futurebird I'm living in Malaysia and occasionally run into these ants in the forest. As far as tropical ants go, they are kind of boring aside from their size.They were also kind of annoying when they swarmed my carrion baited pitfall traps.
(DIR) Post #B3BkKvhUdJzeqJcYtc by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-02-10T19:50:19Z
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@ubi @vikxin Boring? they do ritualistic “tall ant contests” to decide border disputes!But beyond that they are just regular carpenters— but huge.