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submitted 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) by thelastaxolotl@hexbear.net to c/earth@hexbear.net

Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of 22,000 species have been classified. They are easily identified by their geniculate (elbowed) antennae and the distinctive node-like structure that forms their slender waists.

Ants form colonies that range in size from a few dozen individuals often living in small natural cavities to highly organised colonies that may occupy large territories with sizeable nest that consist of millions of individuals or into the hundreds of millions in super colonies. Typical colonies consist of various castes of sterile, wingless females, most of which are workers (ergates), as well as soldiers (dinergates) and other specialised groups. Nearly all ant colonies also have some fertile males called "drones" and one or more fertile females called "queens" (gynes). The colonies are described as superorganisms because the ants appear to operate as a unified entity, collectively working together to support the colony.

Ants have colonised almost every landmass on Earth. The only places lacking indigenous ants are Antarctica and a few remote or inhospitable islands. Ants thrive in moist tropical ecosystems and may exceed the combined biomass of wild birds and mammals. Their success in so many environments has been attributed to their social organisation and their ability to modify habitats, tap resources, and defend themselves. Their long co-evolution with other species has led to mimetic, commensal, parasitic, and mutualistic relationships.

Ant societies have division of labour, communication between individuals, and an ability to solve complex problems. These parallels with human societies have long been an inspiration and subject of study. Many human cultures make use of ants in cuisine, medication, and rites. Some species are valued in their role as biological pest control agents. Their ability to exploit resources may bring ants into conflict with humans, however, as they can damage crops and invade buildings. Some species, such as the red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta) of South America, are regarded as invasive species in other parts of the world, establishing themselves in areas where they have been introduced accidentally.

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[-] EstraDoll@hexbear.net 10 points 2 months ago

trying to remember what i was supposed to be doing that i've been putting off for too long

[-] homhom9000@hexbear.net 10 points 2 months ago

Played hookie at work to go to the movies. Felt guilty for leaving without a real reason. Not guilty enough to go back though.

[-] VHS@hexbear.net 10 points 2 months ago

I got mistaken for a drug dealer yesterday. Kinda funny but I don't know why. Second or third time someone has thought that

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[-] AmericaDelendaEst@hexbear.net 10 points 2 months ago

on that rice and beer diet, like im boutta build a pyramid

[-] LocalOaf@hexbear.net 10 points 2 months ago

foodTried cashew yogurt for the first time, actually really good

Yim yum yummy

[-] GalaxyBrain@hexbear.net 9 points 2 months ago

Drinking a smoothie with it rn. Shit rules. I steal my cashews from work and therefore have an industrial supply at times for vegan cheese and stuff

[-] autism_2@hexbear.net 10 points 2 months ago

ANTS lets-fucking-go

cuties

[-] Wmill@hexbear.net 10 points 2 months ago

This really cute store near the place I get my water from opened up but I'm feeling gatekept by my lack of monies. Manager also scary though I haven't talked to her and just saying that cuz she hot

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[-] edge@hexbear.net 10 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

My office has some shitty AI store instead of a vending machine. Tap your credit card to unlock a cabinet, take what you want, and AI figures out what you took to charge you for it. Basically those Amazon stores but smaller. (Or at least I assume, I didn't see any mechanism for selecting or scanning what you take, and I didn't try it.)

What's wrong with a normal vending machine???

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[-] bigboopballs@hexbear.net 10 points 2 months ago

fuck landlords
fuck cars

[-] LanyrdSkynrd@hexbear.net 9 points 2 months ago

Anyone ever read Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow? It was in a stack of books destined for the trash, I didn't even read the synopsis fully, I just grabbed it because I enjoy gilded era aesthetics. It was really good, I ended up reading it in 2 days.

I'm curious what other people think about it.

[-] viva_la_juche@hexbear.net 9 points 2 months ago

Say the line bart

[-] keepcarrot@hexbear.net 9 points 2 months ago

Another kind of guy:

A guy no one calls lazy, but he only has energy for getting/having power over others (e.g. "negotiating" with desperate people, yelling at employees), but never does the dishes. He has surrounded himself with people who he has berated into doing housework. He has never been desperate for food or shelter and has had to go around and beg people with more power for help.

In unrelated news, I'm meeting a lot of people in engineering

[-] Josephine_Spiro@hexbear.net 9 points 2 months ago

Getting a new therapist, and idk if im doing something bad by discrediting someone for having a shitty haircut. Like guy has his hair receded back half his head and chose to spike it upwards for his website introduction video

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[-] jimmyjohnsandwichsix@hexbear.net 9 points 2 months ago

I want to post but I have nothing to post pain

[-] Mantikora@hexbear.net 9 points 2 months ago

In the old house we had a colony of ants under the house and they would break through the concrete walls to get in and jump on cats' food. One day, one of my cats vomited and I was in a rush for work, so I didn't clean it. When I got home, the vomit was gone. Ants were my little helpers and since then they had every right on our house during their season. Spiders were also welcome. I don't have to tell you that our house looked like a house from horror movies whole spring, summer and early autumn. My animal roommates always had the same rights as us humans. Only moths and mosquitoes were on the black list and surprisingly, we never had a cockroach. Ok, there was one because the shed across was ew, and he was murdered, but he was the only one that visited us. Moths, I'm so sorry for killing you, but I want my food and clothes to last. Hate buying new clothes.

Anyways, ants are great.

[-] kittin@hexbear.net 9 points 2 months ago

Hakim’s video on Tiananmen Square is a banger

[-] Goblinmancer@hexbear.net 9 points 2 months ago

What the tyranids are running from

[-] Sickos@hexbear.net 9 points 2 months ago

There was a meeting at work about improving productivity and focus while working and a bunch of my coworkers were enthusiastically sharing their favorite productivity apps and the importance of stretch breaks and taking walks and standing desks and treadmill desks and timers and todo lists and fidgets and a whole host of other stuff and I just found the whole experience off-putting and vaguely sinister.

None of it was super productivity grindset stuff (which is inherently and obviously evil), it was just warm fuzzy "here's the little things that get me through the work day"--and I think that's worse.

Anything that reduces the pain of the workday reduces radicalization potential. Encouraging the workers to take their own actions to improve their work experience is shifting the focus away from a systemic problem. Why put the onus of improving the workday on oneself? Rawdog the office, get mad about it, get mad about the system that enables it.

"I find it hard to mine coal for twelve hours a day every day so I mix it up by taking stretch breaks, going for walks around the mine, and creating an ambient soundscape of music and city noises" - weak, enables your own continued exploitation.

"I find it hard to mine coal for twelve hours a day every day so I shot at the mine owner's house until we only had to do it eight hours a day and got weekends off" - strong, corrects a systemic problem.

[-] LeylaLove@hexbear.net 9 points 2 months ago

CW: Meat, alcohol

Letting myself have a Guinness today. My work has it on tap and my ride is over an hour behind. Tap Guinness is so fucking good. I forgot what it was like to drink alcohol because I actually enjoy the drinks and not to get drunk. I'm making a list of "cheat drinks" because there are a few beverages that I genuinely feel like I'm missing out on by not drinking, and they're all terrible for binge drinking. Blue Moon with good steak is one of the greatest flavor combos ever. I rarely have steak, so when I do I want a Blue Moon with it. Unfiltered beers give me unbearable hangovers after just 1 though, so I don't drink too much. Guinness makes me feel like I ate an entire meal, I can't drink too much more after 1. I would drink the de-alcoholed versions of them, but the flavors on them too "thin" IMO.


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[-] AmericaDelendaEst@hexbear.net 9 points 2 months ago

wow I could spend my limited time after work playing a videogame and relaxing or I could argue about whether I think cops are bourgeois or not. THANK YOU BRAIN for making the correct choice! wow!

[-] SoylentSnake@hexbear.net 9 points 2 months ago

off my regular podcasting habit, any highlights from chapo trueanon deprogram and/or trillbillies i should give a listen to? dont have the capacity to be a regular listener rn but ill go back for the notable bangers in the recent past.

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[-] Wmill@hexbear.net 9 points 2 months ago

no-copyright I've gotten all the emblems in SA1 and SA2 before on the gamecube but since I got both games on steam I need to get them there too. Globally only like 2.8% of players got all the achievements for SA1 and hell if I did it once I can do it again soviet-huff

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[-] WittyProfileName2@hexbear.net 9 points 2 months ago

dean-frown Election decided by proportional representation.

dean-smile Election decided by porpoise reputation.

[-] Wmill@hexbear.net 9 points 2 months ago

Conquered the demons in my dreams, now they exist soley to fear me kiryu-approaching, might have also made a promise to attend someone's birthday in the dream world I swear I need to keep up better with these sidestories kiryu-stare

[-] Wendy_Pleakley@hexbear.net 9 points 2 months ago

Listen, in this house we trust Snoopy. We believe in Snoopy

[-] Bat@hexbear.net 9 points 2 months ago

Dutch Van Der Linde voice "Be gay with me, Arthur"

[-] GalaxyBrain@hexbear.net 9 points 2 months ago

Canadian hexos, so are we gonna have to.do an election soon? Did Jagmeet just become cool as hell? From normie sources it sounds like he's cutting ties with the libs and going for the full pot in a federal. If that's the case...WHAT TOOK SO LONG? Fuck, libs vs conservative party, it's con win easy, we literally have a strong national socdem party, like if they're going for a win I'll vote for em, they're the sanders level guys. So are they making a genuine move here or what?

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[-] wombat@hexbear.net 9 points 2 months ago

it is september 6 and stalin saved the world from fascism

[-] thelastaxolotl@hexbear.net 9 points 2 months ago

Record number of Indigenous land titles granted in Peru via innovative process (commentary) hexbear post wiphala

  • Land titles have proven to be the most effective way to protect Indigenous peoples’ land from deforestation, with such territories experiencing a 66% decrease in deforestation, and therefore protecting these forests for generations to come.
  • Recently, 37 land titles were secured in the Peruvian Amazon in record time, between June 2023 to May 2024, via a partnership between two NGOs and the Peruvian government, using an innovative, low-cost, high-impact model to expedite the process.
  • “We believe this model can be replicated in other regions of the Amazon and perhaps even beyond,” the authors of a new op-ed write.
  • The process of securing land titles ranges from slow and bureaucratic to extremely dangerous. In Peru, more than 30 Indigenous leaders have been murdered over the past two decades for seeking titles for their territories and the recognition of their ancestral lands.

Indigenous mothers fight to search CIA experiment site in Montreal hexbear post kkkanada

A group of Indigenous women are hoping to stop the bulldozers at a former Montreal hospital which they believe could hold the truth about children still missing from a grisly half-century-old CIA experiment.

In the 1950s and 1960s, behind the austere walls of the old psychiatric institute, the US Central Intelligence Agency funded a human experiments programme called MK Ultra.

During the Cold War, the programme aimed to develop procedures and drugs to effectively brainwash people. Experiments were conducted in Britain, Canada and the United States, subjecting people — including Indigenous children in Montreal — to electroshocks, hallucinogenic drugs, and sensory deprivation. “They wanted to erase us,” said Kahentinetha.

Albanese government to pay $202m to NT’s Indigenous workers in stolen wages class action hexbear post aus-delenda-est

The federal government will pay up to $202m compensation to thousands of Indigenous workers whose wages were stolen while working in the Northern Territory last century.

The payout is part of the settlement of a class action on behalf of workers and their families who were subject to commonwealth wage control legislation between 1933 and 1971.

Posting it here might as well

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this post was submitted on 05 Sep 2024
75 points (98.7% liked)

Earth

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