The book “Gardening Ants: The Attines” (Weber) is old but it has so many banger illustrations.
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The book “Gardening Ants: The Attines” (Weber) is old but it has so many banger illustrations. Here is one showing the size difference in Atta cephalotes minors and majors. This difference is entirely caused by how the ants are fed and cared for. Ants have so much variability in gene expression and they use it to shape their population to fit the work that needs to be done. (I love the naturalistic placement of the minor on the major’s head, they do hang out like this.) #antbooks #diagrams #ants
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The book “Gardening Ants: The Attines” (Weber) is old but it has so many banger illustrations. Here is one showing the size difference in Atta cephalotes minors and majors. This difference is entirely caused by how the ants are fed and cared for. Ants have so much variability in gene expression and they use it to shape their population to fit the work that needs to be done. (I love the naturalistic placement of the minor on the major’s head, they do hang out like this.) #antbooks #diagrams #ants
She's a cutting machine! Like a circle cutter with legs come to life!
Her body is designed to cut and haul maximum LEAF.
What a triumph!
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F myrmepropagandist shared this topic
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She's a cutting machine! Like a circle cutter with legs come to life!
Her body is designed to cut and haul maximum LEAF.
What a triumph!
When atta are cutting a leaf they make stridulations (vibrations too hight-pitched for human hearing) by moving their exoskeleton. This noise isn't just a result of the cutting, it's an extra noise that carries through the plant, letting other ants know the quality of the leaf. The higher quality the leaf the more intense the sounds she will make calling more ants to the place where the leaves are at the perfect level of development for fungus farming.
Wonder if plants are alarmed by this?
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She's a cutting machine! Like a circle cutter with legs come to life!
Her body is designed to cut and haul maximum LEAF.
What a triumph!
You may not like it ... peak performance ... etc etc.
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When atta are cutting a leaf they make stridulations (vibrations too hight-pitched for human hearing) by moving their exoskeleton. This noise isn't just a result of the cutting, it's an extra noise that carries through the plant, letting other ants know the quality of the leaf. The higher quality the leaf the more intense the sounds she will make calling more ants to the place where the leaves are at the perfect level of development for fungus farming.
Wonder if plants are alarmed by this?
@futurebird
Fully leaved bush having slow, plant thoughts:
What's that strange noise coming from my third branch over there?By the time the slow, plant thought finishes it is a partially leaved bush.
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@futurebird
Fully leaved bush having slow, plant thoughts:
What's that strange noise coming from my third branch over there?By the time the slow, plant thought finishes it is a partially leaved bush.
Plants can respond shockingly fast to insect attacks, they change the level of turpentines in their leaves to deter caterpillars in just hours.
Then again... with the ants you might not have hours. That might be WHY the ants make the sound, to get the leaves before the plant responds.
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Plants can respond shockingly fast to insect attacks, they change the level of turpentines in their leaves to deter caterpillars in just hours.
Then again... with the ants you might not have hours. That might be WHY the ants make the sound, to get the leaves before the plant responds.
@futurebird @roytoo a turpentine saves nine
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@futurebird @roytoo a turpentine saves nine
How did I almost miss this pun. WOW.
