@futurebird@sauropods.win
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futurebird

@futurebird@sauropods.win

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

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futurebird, to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

During the lockdown days one of my happy discoveries were old natural history books filled with nonsense. Sometimes well-meaning factual errors, at other times sensationalism. ("The army ants of South America can clean the bones of a living calf to a polish in but a few hours!")

I ran in to this book plate being sold on etsy and it has the feeling of "old natural history book nonsense."

But it could also be a displaced colony, perhaps by flood waters, with the callow workers in the center?

futurebird,
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@Paxxi This is a great question! Somehow ants are aware of the size the tunnels need to be to accommodate everyone in the colony. Another ant mystery!

futurebird,
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@coprolite9000

Ah yes. The gnomes finding the ichthyosaurs... everyone knows about... uh ... that ... thing that happened ... or was in a story um.

futurebird,
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@coprolite9000

Awww thanks. This is a big help. Now I just need to find out if this is really something driver ants do or not. Should be fun!

futurebird,
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@nazgul

I think it might more be that both that story and the goofy information in old natural history books is the result of taking local folk legends about ants too literally.

futurebird,
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@NerdGirlInVR

I think she's a work of art... like if Hans Ruedi Giger designed a stapler.

futurebird,
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@whetstone @NerdGirlInVR the ones used as sutures are from south america— the blind ones are from East Africa.

futurebird,
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@Mabande In reality… baby ants.

futurebird,
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She has no eyes. Everything about her is minimalistic. Like a Bahuas design.

She is the word "bite" become animate.

One purpose: to bite

Driver ant majors are incredible. Guided by the rest of the colony they are always ready to teach regret to anything that gets too close to her more vulnerable sisters.

futurebird,
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@Mabande Can ya’ll stop being so damn colonial minded for like 5min and please just look at the wildlife??? (no)

futurebird,
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@Mabande 🤣

ernie, (edited ) to random
@ernie@writing.exchange avatar

Twitter is straight up recommending a space hosted by Richard Spencer. I can't remove this. It's stuck at the top of my timeline

EDIT: I have determined this was because a journalist I was following decided to listen in. (This is a situation where, if you’re reporting, you might want to pull out your secondary.)

futurebird,
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@ernie Wow what a killer app! I’m soooo missing out on the fun.

futurebird, to random
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Recursion is black magic.

futurebird,
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@tncowart

Cool! Was this paper ever published? It's in French so I feel a little daunted-- but, if there are published papers and they are only in French maybe a translation project is in order so all the English-speaking heathens can know about it.

futurebird,
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

I’m a grown up but I still am amazed every time it works? Just feels like cheating. I think experiencing this in a CS context hammers that home more than when you do induction proofs in math because you get the whole output… it can’t possibly be a trick but still feels like one.

My class figured out the 4peg tower of hanoi but they are now depressed because I said no one has proven if it’s the most efficient in terms of numbers of moves. (this is still open, yes?)

earthchild, to art
@earthchild@mastodon.social avatar

Montreal-based artist Raku Inoue used sticks, seeds and petals to create his Natura Insects series. “I think about the main shape of the insect,” he says, “and try to find something to satisfy that. It’s very much like a puzzle."

The series started as a morning routine over coffee to sharpen his thoughts for the day. “It was never meant to be a complex process, but rather an easygoing, morning mind-stretching exercise.”

Article and photos:

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2018/aug/11/a-garden-alive-with-art-all-natural-insect-sculptures-in-pictures

futurebird,
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@earthchild

Oh, by "her" I meant the ant.

futurebird,
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@earthchild

I love her!

Doug_Bostrom, to random

@futurebird

I think there's a lack of imagination in play in this article. How about putting ant-friendly non-toxic food where one prefers the ants to be?

Seems as though at a minimum the advice should explicitly include "and by the way, putting ant "bait" in your home so as to keep ants out of your home is axiomatically counterproductive."

https://www.seattletimes.com/explore/at-home/as-it-gets-warmer-ants-will-be-marching-into-homes-heres-how-to-prevent-that/

futurebird,
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@Virginicus @Doug_Bostrom @mybarkingdogs

“yes.”
-otters probably

futurebird,
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@Doug_Bostrom

It's also incorrect ... food isn't the main reason for ants invading in suburban and urban areas. Ants that live near humans have too much food. They lack fresh water and nice moist spaces to nest.

Dealing with water issues is the primary thing, eliminating nesting spots with nice humidity is also key.

futurebird, to random
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I tried to go take a peek at the new leaf cutter ant colony at the AMNH but golly geez... the line was SO LONG. I gotta try to go first thing in the AM.

I'm glad it's popular, though. Every museum can be improved with ant colonies!

futurebird,
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@xris

aw... there are minimums riding the leaves keeping a lookout for parasitoid wasps. They're so prepared for everything!

(also what else will nursery workers do as they age out?)

futurebird, to random
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Good for you, Jean!

futurebird,
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To be honest Trump seemed unwilling to defend himself or offer anything convincing to denny what he did.

And I assume that's because he never has and probably never will see what the crime was.

tarajdactyl, to random

@futurebird I've been thinking about ants and if anybody can help with my ponderings, it is you!

is there anything actually harmful about ants in a house? everything i can find online just assumes they are a pest that must be eradicated, but do they actually do any harm? they just eat my trash and do no harm. just chill little friends looking for snacks. i always feel awful when i kill them. is there any reason to try to get rid of them?

they seem to come and go over the course of the year anyway...

futurebird,
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

@holyramenempire @tarajdactyl I think the more realistic take is “what kind of ecosystem am I willing to tolerate in the walls?” since there’s gonna be someone living there the question is who.

futurebird,
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

@tarajdactyl

The main harm ants can cause in a human house are if they get into food. If your house is old and has rotting wood they can accelerate that process if it’s a large carpenter ant species. Ants eat an even mix of other insects & sugars. they reduce other pests— It’s probably best to try to dissuade them from invading since houses aren’t really natural or safe places for ants. They are not as “pesty” as flies or roaches — but not exactly worth welcoming like spiders.

futurebird, to random
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The real worker ants of the Upper East Side!

Fancy UES ants
https://youtube.com/shorts/vbi4VR7qn7I?feature=share

futurebird,
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I bet they have a psychiatrist for their pet aphids.

futurebird,
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I bet they have a subway in that crack.

drskyskull, to random
@drskyskull@mastodon.social avatar

Jack has woefully underestimated my kinks

futurebird,
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@drskyskull

"again, skyskull?!?"

futurebird, to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

"Those things which I say have no utility for the colony: art, music, design, poetry, may yet hold a kind of utility too complex for this ant to perceive."

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