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   Dave Dawkins (D. Harrigon) (golgaloth@writing.exchange)'s status on Thursday, 27-Mar-2025 20:23:39 JST Dave Dawkins (D. Harrigon)

   • myrmepropagandist

   @futurebird So tell me, she who knows, I've got some bugs coming up in the next section of my series of novellas. What's a good documentary on ant behaviour, possibly bees, for me to steal some cool bits for my alien bugs? My characters will be literally crawling into the nest, so I need a good primer. A lecture recorded at a university might also work.

   #SciFi #bugs #ants #AmWriting #writing

   • Embed this notice
     myrmepropagandist (futurebird@sauropods.win)'s status on Thursday, 27-Mar-2025 20:23:35 JST myrmepropagandist

     in reply to

     @golgaloth

     My least favorite scifi social insect trope is the one where they kill the queen then the whole colony dies or falls apart.

     I've written a bit about what happens when the queen dies in real ant colonies here:

     https://www.tumblr.com/futurebird/687923061354364928/the-queen-is-dead?source=share

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     myrmepropagandist (futurebird@sauropods.win)'s status on Thursday, 27-Mar-2025 20:23:36 JST myrmepropagandist

     in reply to

     @golgaloth

     The most common error I've seen in #scifi representations of social insects is a deep misunderstanding about the role of the queen and the nature of the "hive mind" (such as it is)

     1. Queen ants are not rulers, they are more like ovaries. The colony is like a body every cell is important.
     2. Ants are individuals and do whatever they want. It just so happens that what they want is for the colony to thrive, but they can get in 'arguments' about HOW to do that most efficiently.

     Aral Balkan repeated this.
   • Embed this notice
     myrmepropagandist (futurebird@sauropods.win)'s status on Thursday, 27-Mar-2025 20:23:38 JST myrmepropagandist

     in reply to

     I'm so glad you asked. These are general overviews of some of the most famous kinds of ants that everyone should know about.

     @golgaloth

     The Wood Ant Supercolony
     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXKn1f5yVe0

     Atta Cephalotes: The Leafcutter Ants, Ants who Farm Fungi
     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8n0SkIGARuo

     Weaver Ants (Ants who live in trees and make silk nests)
     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSmM3fVHwQQ

     Army Ants (Ants that inspired horror stories)
     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prwdLQi2LFQ

     Bull Ants (one of the largest ants)
     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vRRYsVUkwU

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     Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Thursday, 27-Mar-2025 20:24:12 JST Aral Balkan

     in reply to

     • myrmepropagandist

     @futurebird @golgaloth Such a beautiful article 💕