Post B62VlyfRgfabFd9X3w by futurebird@sauropods.win
(DIR) More posts by futurebird@sauropods.win
(DIR) Post #B61yA39BHqcReXMtOq by NuanceRhymesWithOrange@mstdn.social
2026-05-06T17:37:03Z
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Trillium season.#Photography #BlackAndWhite #BloomScrolling
(DIR) Post #B61yA4EXFQUp1QsgNs by scruss@xoxo.zone
2026-05-06T17:53:04Z
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@NuanceRhymesWithOrange a great excuse to use the word "myrmecochorous" (having seeds that are dispersed by ants), because that's what Trilliums are.
(DIR) Post #B61yIPCz9BRsOL8FFI by camless@m.ai6yr.org
2026-05-06T17:59:33Z
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@scruss @NuanceRhymesWithOrange @futurebird Another ant fact?!
(DIR) Post #B61yIQSyTDpgIDcWo4 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-05-06T20:15:54Z
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@camless @scruss @NuanceRhymesWithOrange "Myrmecochory" is literally "ant walking" because these kinds of plants have little ant treats stuck to their seeds and the ants discover they have to drag the whole seed just to get the good bit back to their nest... which is often a great place for a seed to grow.
(DIR) Post #B61yc3WbTYr6vtg6vQ by energisch_@troet.cafe
2026-05-06T20:19:25Z
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@futurebird Plants with smart mobility tactics! @camless @scruss @NuanceRhymesWithOrange
(DIR) Post #B61yjoU5HRdsbNCOHI by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-05-06T20:20:52Z
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@energisch_ @camless @scruss @NuanceRhymesWithOrange Ants wondering why the groceries come with so much heavy junk mail!
(DIR) Post #B61ytT89Wn0xGoXpku by energisch_@troet.cafe
2026-05-06T20:22:35Z
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@futurebird Ah, but they do get added benefits! A plant growing right in their homes! @camless @scruss @NuanceRhymesWithOrange
(DIR) Post #B621RknEZ5aXnuEhfs by otte_homan@theblower.au
2026-05-06T20:51:07Z
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@futurebird is myrmechicory a thing ?!? @camless @scruss @NuanceRhymesWithOrange
(DIR) Post #B62QFqYxmibZ4sypzk by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-05-07T01:29:12Z
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@camless @scruss @NuanceRhymesWithOrange OK. Prepare to have your mind blown. You thought Myrmecochory was wild? Plants that get ants to move their seeds? How about wasps that mimic such seeds by inducing an Oak tree to grow a gall with an elisome (the yummy part that makes the ants want to move it)That's right, some gall-making wasps create galls that are dispersed by ants using the myrmecochory behavioral template from seeds!🤯
(DIR) Post #B62QROZ3hy7FiWX1Y8 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-05-07T01:31:14Z
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@camless @scruss @NuanceRhymesWithOrange Those structures are NOT the eggs of the wasp. It's grown by the oak tree. Those are oak tree cells that have been tricked by the power of the wasps and their larvae to make this strange structure that seems to not benefit the tree at all. How do wasps make plants do these things for them? Can you make a tree grow in the shape of a nice house for YOUR child?
(DIR) Post #B62RPaEBTOuJGVT38y by michaelgemar@cosocial.ca
2026-05-07T01:42:07Z
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@futurebird @camless @scruss @NuanceRhymesWithOrange Where do the ants take the galls? Back to their nest?
(DIR) Post #B62RWLCviTrmhx6SrQ by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-05-07T01:43:23Z
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@michaelgemar @camless @scruss @NuanceRhymesWithOrange They take them back to their nest and remove the elisome. Then they toss the gall in their garbage pile. And that's seems to be where everyone (seeds, baby wasps in galls) wants to be. In the ant garbage for some reason.
(DIR) Post #B62RksbYLLvALEYLpY by stevegis_ssg@mas.to
2026-05-07T01:45:59Z
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@futurebird @camless @scruss @NuanceRhymesWithOrange This is a neat question. There are bacteria that inject DNA into plant cells, that encodes a protein that activates other genes and turns on a whole genetic program to make gall-like structures that the bacteria live in. I wonder if the wasps use commensal bacteria to do the same thing!
(DIR) Post #B62Sdjjz08TkmFebeC by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-05-07T01:55:53Z
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@camless @scruss @NuanceRhymesWithOrange I really love this infographic because of the "action shots" showing the ants interacting with the galls and the seeds.
(DIR) Post #B62SjOgwArbJERvd8C by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-05-07T01:56:46Z
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@xenotrope @camless @scruss @NuanceRhymesWithOrange And flora... it's all over the place. Sometimes I feel like people aren't astonished enough by the implications of plant galls. It's scifi stuff.
(DIR) Post #B62TKZAMC288QtPerY by scruss@xoxo.zone
2026-05-07T02:03:31Z
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@futurebird @camless every time I think the world has got weird enough, there's a little wasp somewhere making it even weirder
(DIR) Post #B62VlwdbEYvMxKH1uK by michaelgemar@cosocial.ca
2026-05-07T02:24:02Z
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@neckspike @futurebird @camless @scruss @NuanceRhymesWithOrange I’m hearing the Green Acres theme song…
(DIR) Post #B62VlyfRgfabFd9X3w by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-05-07T02:30:51Z
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@michaelgemar @neckspike @camless @scruss @NuanceRhymesWithOrange *sings*Ant garbage is the place to beMyrmecochory is a ride for freeDetritus spread out far and widekeep the canopy let ant refuse be my guide!
(DIR) Post #B62VuAua31XZXg8nBI by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-05-07T02:32:30Z
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@michaelgemar @neckspike @camless @scruss @NuanceRhymesWithOrange I'd watch a show about a pair of urban gall wasps learning to live in the ant garbage pile...
(DIR) Post #B62YnZOwteKXKbt5dY by sinvega@mas.to
2026-05-07T03:04:54Z
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@futurebird @michaelgemar @camless @scruss @NuanceRhymesWithOrange ant garbage is full of cool creatures who either outsmarted the ants or were exactly annoying enough to them to get kicked out but not killed. it's kind of like when some chud creates a list of targets to mock or threaten them and it's basically all the soundest people you've ever met
(DIR) Post #B63d3ZxPBxnYfAqy0m by pkviatko@ecoevo.social
2026-05-07T15:27:17Z
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@futurebird @camless @scruss @NuanceRhymesWithOrange If you think about ants just being highly specialized social wasps, it's so funny that wasps want to be in other wasps' trash.
(DIR) Post #B64eS0jfZmMVmFbPKy by llewelly@sauropods.win
2026-05-08T03:17:38Z
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@futurebird @camless @scruss @NuanceRhymesWithOrange uh, what do the ants do when the seed sprouts in their nest? Is the seed now growing roots and shoots a problem, or no?