@futurebird@sauropods.win
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

futurebird

@futurebird@sauropods.win

pro-ant propaganda, building electronics, writing sci-fi teaching mathematics & CS. I live in NYC.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

futurebird, (edited ) to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

It’s such a privilege to share my home with living breathing royalty. I check on her in the morning since she’s least likely to be disturbed. They are nocturnal and she’s been up all night laying eggs and being fussed over by her daughters. At this time of day she’s sleeping deeply enough that she won’t stir if I remove the light cover. Sleeping Beauty!

I never settled on a name for her. She’s just “the queen” —

futurebird,
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

I wonder if she dreams of that bright day when she had wings. When she flew over NYC looking for seat for her empire? I don’t think ant memory works like human memory— (though they do remember AND learn.)

Ants radically reshape their brains to suit each stage of life— the parts of her that knew of flying are probably as gone as her wings—

Maybe she dreams of the feeling of her daughters massing around her in such great numbers that they all feel that impulse to produce new queens & drones.

futurebird,
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

@elan Sometimes! Though he’s very … youTube influencer styled (which is the only way to make such work a sustainable profession) but I think it harms the quality of the content— he used to make much better but less “viral” videos.

But at least it gets people thinking about ants. So I can’t be a hater.

futurebird,
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

@bovaz I think people sometimes expect all ants to have dichthadiiform queens like termites. But to have such a large queen means she can’t run while physogastric and certainly can’t fly. So only the species with “army ant syndrome” have those huge fat queens.

futurebird,
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

She must have been a sight to see flying. Ants are chaotic, awkward flyers… even I can admit they aren’t very good at it. Don’t even tuck in the legs. “landing gear” stays fully splayed for the duration of flight: they don’t know when or where they’ll run into something. You have flying black creature the size/shape of a larger wasp hurtling through the air —legs out: if ants could scream you’d hear a tiny “ahhhhh!” as they went by. (no wonder they tear off the wings with such gusto)

futurebird, (edited )
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

@wcbdata @bovaz There are so many fun words in myrmecology for “junk in the trunk”

-Repletes (honeypot workers with huge social stomachs)
-Physogastrism (temporary gaster enlargement for laying eggs)
-Dichthadiiform (gastrically enlarged queens who cannot fly)

I feel like there must be more words I’m missing for “fat ants” Consider these camponotus majors who are storing extra fat for winter… rather like repletes but not as extreme.

futurebird,
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

Some arboreal worker ants of genus Cephalotes are famous for their ability to use their flat bodies to glide when they jump off a tree branch. They are able to glide back to the trunk of the tree so they can more quickly return to their nests in the rainforest canopy.

I wonder if there is any connection between the neural structures required for worker gliding and those for queens flying. Because isn’t flying really just falling with an excess of grace?

kevsherrystuff, to art
@kevsherrystuff@mastodon.social avatar

Day 4: Learning to draw. Via the magic of the book, I can now apparently draw my own hand with varying levels of proficiency. I’m amazed at how good this book is. You should all try it (unless you can already draw - in which case, ignore me)

image/jpeg
image/jpeg

futurebird,
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

@kevsherrystuff

You can't just say this and not mention the book!

futurebird, to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

In the Algebraicist by Ian M. Banks some aliens come to earth in early human history and take a bunch of humans and human DNA and set them up all over the galaxy— get them up to speed on tech and those humans and the aliens just leave Earth alone to develop “naturally” — so when humans on earth eventually explore the galaxy some of the aliens they meet are just other humans. (this is just a minor plot point if you can imagine)

So if this happened are you mad? Or no?

futurebird, to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

I know N. flavipes is invasive but they are still very pretty ants. This is what we get for importing so many plants. The garden trade is almost wholly responsible for nearly all of the invasive ants! Stop planting non native plants!

futurebird,
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

Is not their fault. Poor little fiends. They don’t know NYC isn’t Japan.

futurebird, to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

They call him "America's Complainer"

futurebird, to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

Say good morning to a lucky squad of Nylanderia flavipes. They attacked this Archips sp. oak leaf worm as it was feeding. The worm tried to escape by jumping from the tree but the little army was too numerous and relentless. Urban ants tend to be a little protein starved. Our built environments are crusted with sugar— but thin on arthropods to snack on.

(sometimes I think about what would happen to the NYC roach population without the pressure of ants— then I shudder) Ants are omnivorous.

futurebird, to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

Shh! The tiny ants are sleeping! 🐜 💤

futurebird, to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

Damn I got this seersucker mostly for the camp value— but it turns out it really does make me feel less hot and miserable on a humid day! Saratoga here I come!

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • megavids
  • tacticalgear
  • magazineikmin
  • thenastyranch
  • Youngstown
  • mdbf
  • rosin
  • slotface
  • InstantRegret
  • khanakhh
  • Durango
  • kavyap
  • osvaldo12
  • DreamBathrooms
  • JUstTest
  • GTA5RPClips
  • ngwrru68w68
  • everett
  • tester
  • ethstaker
  • cisconetworking
  • cubers
  • modclub
  • provamag3
  • anitta
  • normalnudes
  • Leos
  • lostlight
  • All magazines
    •