Post B2SPjRfqqlCOUNxXJA by futurebird@sauropods.win
(DIR) More posts by futurebird@sauropods.win
(DIR) Post #B2SOMD4EtJS6ZZit4y by kludgekml@sunbeam.city
2026-01-19T22:38:38Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
@futurebird Do ants have birth defects? I wouldn't have thought of it affecting animals so small, but I saw a spider with 7 normal legs and one tiny one, and it made me wonder. Like, had it lost a leg and was regenerating, or did it develop that way. (I didn't think arthropods could regenerate limbs, but maybe they can?)
(DIR) Post #B2SOMDyxUQp3PUGBUG by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-19T22:41:59Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@kludgekml Yes, and I once filmed some of my ants doing surgery on an ant with what was basically a club foot when she was a pupae so that when she emerged later she could walk. Here is the video:https://www.tumblr.com/zinderant/806093542530465792
(DIR) Post #B2SOcfyt9spgse4WzQ by rk@mastodon.well.com
2026-01-19T22:44:57Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird @kludgekml Holy shit.
(DIR) Post #B2SPWEZUFoTM5TgOBM by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-19T22:54:57Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@rk @kludgekml Aren't they cute and mysterious. You can watch what they are doing but they will never explain.
(DIR) Post #B2SPjRfqqlCOUNxXJA by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-19T22:57:20Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
@rk @kludgekml The thing I keep thinking about is: "how do the ants know that there is something wrong with this other ant's leg?"Perhaps the extra tissue didn't smell right or it had the wrong texture. But to what extent do ants have a model of the ant body in their tiny minds? Can they apply that model to other ants?They do attack certain body parts when fighting enemies. But how do they navigate the body of the other? How do they identify what belongs and what doesn't?
(DIR) Post #B2SQeBPVzQSuYTNAGW by CannaParts@nrw.social
2026-01-19T23:07:37Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird Holy Bamboly Super Shit - WOW...On Video - damn cool...💪 @kludgekml
(DIR) Post #B2SQp4WxuQUwP3395k by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-19T23:09:37Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@mikemccaffrey @rk @kludgekml They were doing the surgery with the cover on the nest in total darkness?So I don't think they "saw" the problem.But they do use sight when attacking enemies ... for example to try to go for their neck, or to sting them in the joints.
(DIR) Post #B2SRC0MrYLLQ9VG9lg by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-01-19T23:13:48Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@mikemccaffrey @rk @kludgekml But these are ants with average ant eyesight, which is to say it's more a secondary sense to them. Their world is much more about touch and pheromones, textures and tiny vibrations. Although if I wave my hand over an ant she will follow the motion, but I do wonder if she's sensing the heat and air disturbance and smells too.