Post B4c48ElmbYncw2TA7k by davep@infosec.exchange
(DIR) More posts by davep@infosec.exchange
(DIR) Post #B4c3HpPReHQrDu1wjQ by ninawillburger@social.anoxinon.de
2026-03-25T09:25:18Z
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Usually I don't post things older than the late Palaeolithic period, but #insects embedded in amber never cease to amaze me - the sheer age!This ant preserved in its finest detail is some 50-million-year old.Found in Gujarat, India. đź“· Photo: University of Bonn
(DIR) Post #B4c48ElmbYncw2TA7k by davep@infosec.exchange
2026-03-25T09:43:54Z
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@ninawillburger You should add a little text bubble saying "Oh, bollocks". It's probably the last thing he thought.
(DIR) Post #B4c48GDpCmpBRIb4TI by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-03-25T10:26:41Z
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@davep @ninawillburger *she
(DIR) Post #B4c4CowE4btuGfXVpY by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-03-25T10:27:32Z
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@ninawillburger I always find inclusions haunting. https://sauropods.win/@futurebird/116234289541805386
(DIR) Post #B4c4xRXMtYnZIl8yxM by davep@infosec.exchange
2026-03-25T10:35:57Z
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@futurebird @ninawillburger Yikes! Right you are!
(DIR) Post #B4c88O8QBXPDnUNysq by FandaSin@social.linux.pizza
2026-03-25T11:11:29Z
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@futurebirdHow can you tell? (sorry, I'm totally ignorant when it comes to...well any biology🤦)@davep @ninawillburger
(DIR) Post #B4c8Paaz6reVMlwqP2 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-03-25T11:14:40Z
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@FandaSin @davep @ninawillburger How can you tell the sex of an ant? Generally if the ant has no wings it's female. All worker ants are female. Male ants are very rare and in most species they will have wings. So if you see an ant without wings (most ants) it's female. If you see an ant that has wings it's called an "alate" there is a 50/50 chance it's female in that case. Queen alates tend to have larger heads, male alates have very small heads and big eyes. Bees are also mostly female.
(DIR) Post #B4c8h7CR8qtPPPp5YO by FandaSin@social.linux.pizza
2026-03-25T11:17:46Z
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@futurebird Thank you so much for expanding my knowledge and explaining that to me.đź‘ŤReally appreciated.@davep @ninawillburger
(DIR) Post #B4cAujT6N1mvlpEs4G by fritzoids@mas.to
2026-03-25T11:42:38Z
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@futurebird @FandaSin @davep @ninawillburger male bees (I think the same goes for male ants) are only around for a certain part of the year.When the mating season is over worker bees will drag their brothers (who do not work... all they do is sleep, eat, try to fertilize a queen bee) out of the hive to starve and freeze.
(DIR) Post #B4cJcPFtgMZXSKOmtk by aSweetGentleman@mstdn.social
2026-03-25T13:20:13Z
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@futurebird @FandaSin @davep @ninawillburger "So if you see an ant without wings (most ants) it's female".The opposite of Gelflings then?#DarkCrystal
(DIR) Post #B4cO3BtHsaZddpqnU8 by MedeaVanamonde@beige.party
2026-03-25T14:09:52Z
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@futurebird @FandaSin @davep @ninawillburger Every june, near the solstice, the ants who lived under my cottage and kept the termites away would have a flight. The archway to my porch would be arc’s with alates and attendants.I’d sit with them and watch
(DIR) Post #B4cOgy0euNiyAoGVLE by carl@chaos.social
2026-03-25T14:17:02Z
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@futurebird Termites OTOH are not. @FandaSin @davep @ninawillburger
(DIR) Post #B4cT95Vl0jPVMdTZ1k by saltywizard@beige.party
2026-03-25T15:06:58Z
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@futurebird @FandaSin @davep @ninawillburger was this also true of cretaceous ants?
(DIR) Post #B4cTCoYZzNvLwHZZzs by saltywizard@beige.party
2026-03-25T15:07:38Z
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@futurebird @ninawillburger stare too long into the ant...
(DIR) Post #B4crcuyx7VJAIPtA5A by ratcatcher@beige.party
2026-03-25T19:41:16Z
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@futurebirdDo male ants serve any function other than to mate with the queen (which is, as I understand it, the case with bees)?
(DIR) Post #B4csjJMdTtaPbhZwem by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-03-25T19:53:40Z
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@ratcatcher Nope. That's about it. They need to find a queen from another colony and mate, and it's rather dangerous... but beyond that they don't do much else.