Post B1gf33xcUtc3fe8jh2 by futurebird@sauropods.win
(DIR) More posts by futurebird@sauropods.win
(DIR) Post #B1gesprg3C9D3cU2PQ by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-12-27T22:01:03Z
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The saddest thing about this time of year is the lack of ants. :(I have my pet colony, (carpenters) and the ants at the museum. (honeypots and leafcutters) ... but I never see any ants in the park, or on the sidewalk or trees. It's so lonely. Have you wondered where all the ants go?In winter ants like my carpenters enter "diapause" which is similar to hibernation in mammals. They prepare their bodies for cold and move slowly. Deep in the earth and in the trees they rest in a big pile.
(DIR) Post #B1gf33xcUtc3fe8jh2 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-12-27T22:02:55Z
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My pet ants aren't very cold (though I do put them in a cooler place for winter) Diapause isn't as extreme as hibernation. An ant may have a small snack or groom her sisters. But mostly they rest. Starting in the warm days of March they will wake up and begin a big push to increase their numbers for Spring.
(DIR) Post #B1gfHWMlgO7Hp6nTHs by wmd@chaos.social
2025-12-27T22:05:29Z
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@futurebird that sounds nice.
(DIR) Post #B1gfKiQVIckk624FbE by epicdemiologist@wandering.shop
2025-12-27T22:06:03Z
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@futurebird Hmmm... this post showed up underneath yours with a possible answer to "where did all the ants go?" https://wandering.shop/deck/@birds@moresci.sale/115793779426265302
(DIR) Post #B1gfLV2mXbtOseLUvY by thomasjwebb@mastodon.social
2025-12-27T22:06:10Z
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@futurebird I relate! My turtle brumates and it makes me miss her. The good thing about brumation is it's also not as total as hibernation. But I usually don't catch her right as she gets up to drink water, but just see the aftermath (water gone, her in a different position).
(DIR) Post #B1gfnpl97AlREkbis4 by violator@mathstodon.xyz
2025-12-27T22:11:13Z
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@futurebird just curious, is it possible to safely keep a colony with the seasons artificially offset, through heatlamps and AC? not saying that one should or advocating, just wondering if it is even feasible for an individual without harming them
(DIR) Post #B1gfqcDnu7t47RL2Q4 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-12-27T22:11:50Z
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@michaelgemar Depends on the species. But some Carpenter ants can tolerate freezing temperatures.
(DIR) Post #B1gg0lvUg3Zl75cJLU by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-12-27T22:13:42Z
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@violator It depends on the species. Ants aren't harmed much by staying active in winter if they are used to being more seasonal, the issue is the queen my die younger since she never takes a break from laying eggs. (though tropical species don't take such breaks)Carpenter ants are very hearty and just making things more cool and feeding them less is good enough.
(DIR) Post #B1ggCR7BsZWg2jeMSG by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-12-27T22:15:47Z
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@michaelgemar Mostly they do go deep, but they are also somewhat cold tolerant. But if there are very cold winters it will take longer for the ants to get their numbers back up again.
(DIR) Post #B1ggPOhSAaf4Jjn9xg by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-12-27T22:18:09Z
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I wonder if there have ever been migrating army ants? Ants that don't build a nest and live in the south in the winter then make their way north as the weather warms eating everything in their path?Maybe army ants can make enough progress in a day to get that far.... but what if they brought back their wings? 🤔 🐜 🐦
(DIR) Post #B1ggY4b0HlAkZWubbM by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-12-27T22:19:42Z
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@datarama People are ALWAYS saying that to me.
(DIR) Post #B1ggbnCssa8RncP6Zs by babelcarp@social.tchncs.de
2025-12-27T22:20:20Z
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@futurebird Air force ants?
(DIR) Post #B1ggnp2Ntmzqx5EFma by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-12-27T22:22:31Z
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@charette Well army ants need to keep moving since they eat all of the insects in one area so they need to leave and hunt somewhere else for a bit so they don't destroy the ecosystem.
(DIR) Post #B1ggqkmkAIcudHJKfg by Moss@beige.party
2025-12-27T22:23:02Z
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@futurebird SPACE FORCE ANTS
(DIR) Post #B1ggrlH1pnguR9xOU4 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-12-27T22:23:18Z
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@Moss I have those in my book.
(DIR) Post #B1ghl8KFpT6FrIrwdE by petealexharris@mastodon.scot
2025-12-27T22:33:15Z
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@futurebird Ants running locust software
(DIR) Post #B1giRVuEY3nV9cuGvo by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-12-27T22:40:51Z
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@apLundell cromagnANTS
(DIR) Post #B1glfB2PESigLiw5o0 by ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org
2025-12-27T23:16:54Z
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@futurebird LOL you haven't seen my backyard.
(DIR) Post #B1gnveqWNCXhL8MaX2 by busterb@infosec.exchange
2025-12-27T23:42:22Z
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@futurebird found a new colony of harvester ants today under some boards. They're a lot more fun to be around than the fire ants that are usually everywhere here.
(DIR) Post #B1gsszGYUmv9Zb5QTA by HumToTable@sfba.social
2025-12-28T00:37:55Z
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@futurebird I see tons of them in the house these days, looking for dry ground and coming after my sugar. The ants that live in the pot next to my lemon tree have been pretty busy lately.
(DIR) Post #B1hNRWBxa7W2A5JpTs by dancingtreefrog@mastodon.social
2025-12-28T06:20:16Z
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@futurebird No, I don't wonder where they "go". They never go away here, but we don't really have winter.Our order of ant baits arrives Sunday and I hope will put an end to the invasion of ghost ants we have here.
(DIR) Post #B1hNmI1BTUCeHeBPVI by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-12-28T06:24:06Z
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@dancingtreefrog Are ghost ants invasive where you live? Small ants like that are very dependent on a consistent source of fresh clean water. Is it possible to dry things out so they won't come back when the baits are gone or dried up?
(DIR) Post #B1hOJURaIS9GNUMYNM by dancingtreefrog@mastodon.social
2025-12-28T06:30:04Z
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@futurebird We live in Hawaii. They're invasive, although they've been in the islands for ~100 years now(brought over on ships).Trying to dry anything out around here (especially at this time of year) is virtually impossible. We live in the dry west side of Oahu, there are no surface streams in our area.One of the sprinkler pipes broke awhile back and was repaired, yet the ground in that area still looks wet. Hard to tell, it's been raining about a week now.Ideas?