Post B6WMjEfpyHCe5l93aq by futurebird@sauropods.win
(DIR) More posts by futurebird@sauropods.win
(DIR) Post #B6WMjEfpyHCe5l93aq by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-05-21T12:11:02Z
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“apterous”Reading scientific literature I’m often unfamiliar with words. “apterous” The heck?The subway train was between stations. No internet. No search. Could I just go on reading and figure it out later? I hate doing that. Eventually the book would be so confusing I would give up. THINKIt means “not-something” the context suggests a few things— but then I remember “Hemiptera” and that it has to do with wings!“not wings!”I’m feeling so smug and smart right now. ☺️🥁
(DIR) Post #B6WN1lzkp2qmeGIgeu by GramrgednAngel@beige.party
2026-05-21T12:14:19Z
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@futurebird another example of how knowing some basic root words helps with learning!
(DIR) Post #B6WNBgDp8ovtdhbapk by jmax@mastodon.social
2026-05-21T12:16:06Z
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@futurebird Not sure about NYC rules, but you may now be required to stand up on the subway, speak the word clearly, spell it, and use it in a sentence.
(DIR) Post #B6WNok0R0RKgfXy6Do by GreenSkyOverMe@ohai.social
2026-05-21T12:23:07Z
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@futurebird Oh, that’s why Pterodactyl
(DIR) Post #B6WP7I7szEdleprZB2 by OscarCunningham@mathstodon.xyz
2026-05-21T12:37:44Z
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@futurebird The most common "pter" word is "helico-pter", but people don't see it because they tend to break it down as "heli-copter".
(DIR) Post #B6WU2beJTMrMWvcFE0 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-05-21T13:32:55Z
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Then of course you have the hymenopterans — (the order of ants, sawflies bees and other wasps)hymen here means something like “hinge” or “latch” because when these insects have wings they always have two pairs that can be latched together by a little spur so they work as a single pair.The name means “latch-wing creature” And you look at the average ant and ask “ma’am where are your wings?” then she gets mad and stomps off since that’s like asking if someone is pregnant— rude!
(DIR) Post #B6WUCJ17bLCxdhuRiS by ranjit@friend.camp
2026-05-21T13:34:39Z
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@futurebird Now I'm wondering if ants can stomp! Or maybe I'm wondering if they can ever not stomp!
(DIR) Post #B6WUV6EBNMsVTZypJg by jwcph@helvede.net
2026-05-21T13:38:02Z
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@futurebird So it's a-pterus - that would have taken me a few moments, too 😝 it looks more like a word where the first syllable or two is missing.
(DIR) Post #B6WUis5AlT6RewKgq0 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-05-21T13:40:36Z
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@ranjit Larger ants almost always stomp, their lower legs are kind of floppy and they get better traction that way. Ant queens stomp and waddle with little in between.
(DIR) Post #B6WV0G8eZsPrBuFgvY by david_chisnall@infosec.exchange
2026-05-21T13:43:40Z
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@futurebird then I remember “Hemiptera” Impressed that you got there before 'helicopter'.
(DIR) Post #B6WWDOcqR0GhEQCZg8 by albertcardona@mathstodon.xyz
2026-05-21T13:57:15Z
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@futurebird Diptera – two wings – would have gotten you there faster.
(DIR) Post #B6WWnBPn1pJggW9yu8 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-05-21T14:03:47Z
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@albertcardona And “hymenoptera” would be more on brand— but I think because of the spotted lanternfly I’ve been thinking about true bugs a lot recently.
(DIR) Post #B6WXmYnmgsNGsneN4S by llewelly@sauropods.win
2026-05-21T14:14:52Z
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@futurebird probably the weirdest thing about evoluiton of insect wings is that the ancestral number was probably six wings originally!! Because, obviously, one pair of wings for each pair of legs. Makes sense.
(DIR) Post #B6WYTA8KHf2epIZZFg by lxskllr@mastodon.world
2026-05-21T14:22:32Z
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@futurebird @albertcardona What's your take on the lanternfly? Doesn't seem as apocalyptic as first feared(unlike emerald ash borer). I still try to kill them though. They can be challenging to stomp on. They stay /just/ out of reach. It's like trying to catch a cat's paw :^D Kind of low key fun. I'd feel bad about it, but they don't belong here.
(DIR) Post #B6WjrPusLyLWDr37aK by australopithecus@mastodon.social
2026-05-21T16:30:05Z
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@futurebird FYI hymen is Greek for "membrane", not latch.And of course Coleoptera, "sheath wing", for beetles.
(DIR) Post #B6X672C4WG60GywdlI by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-05-21T20:39:34Z
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@australopithecus hmmm. OK it seems what I was told was wrong, but it's more informative about what the actual difference is about. Many insects have "membrane" wings... only hymenopterans have a way to make them stick together...
(DIR) Post #B6X6MLrLgVzbboYVM0 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-05-21T20:42:15Z
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@bytebro @australopithecus Not bugs but Latin and they are correct. About the Latin.
(DIR) Post #B6XA1nX40CvbAbWQaG by mattmcirvin@mathstodon.xyz
2026-05-21T21:23:19Z
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@futurebird etymology in the service of entomology
(DIR) Post #B6XC9DQ2M2hrOKtrrE by jakobtougaard@mastodon.online
2026-05-21T21:47:06Z
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@futurebird and the biggest of them all: Megaptera (humpback whale) 😁
(DIR) Post #B6XZ8dyoPjzoQOrWj2 by kasdeya@cryptid.cafe
2026-05-22T00:15:22.301899Z
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@futurebird omg in that case I bet pterodactyl means “wing-fingers”! because “dactyl” means “fingers”, like “Pentadactyl” (five fingers), the vim web browser thing
(DIR) Post #B6YGlseC6vlPEoAs9g by david_chisnall@infosec.exchange
2026-05-22T07:40:33Z
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@kasdeya @futurebird I find this one fascinating because it’s explained in ever book about dinosaurs I read and every plaque about one in every museum I visited, as well as being mentioned in school. Yet no one (including me) seems to remember it from there as an adult and the only people who do are ones who either worked it out or relearned it as an adult (again, including me). There seems to be something about that particular derivation that doesn’t stay in people’s head, even if they remember about terrible lizard (dinosaur) and tyrant lizard (tyrannosaurus).Possibly because the most common word we use with pter in it feels like the stem split should be in a different place: heli-copter, not helico (spiral) pter (wing).