lonelymyrmecologist

[lonelymyrmecologist]

Värmland, Sweden (August 29, 2021).

[lonelymyrmecologist]

Other people: It's just a normal car

Me, a weirdo: It looks like Synoeca!

[lonelymyrmecologist]

i'mmm Soo Obesed With Youe bugs 💚

[lonelymyrmecologist]

A true friend is seen in times of need...

[lonelymyrmecologist]

Nature is amazing. #homegrownnationalpark #ants #insects #plants #cuteinsects

[lonelymyrmecologist]

[lonelymyrmecologist]

[lonelymyrmecologist]

[lonelymyrmecologist]

WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME ANTS WERE SO COOL?

okay, so, i thought i accidentally scared an ant, and for some reason i’ve been emotional asf today, so i ranted about it to a friend, who said something along the lines of “i’m sure the ant is fine now”, which spiked my “animal curiosity”, so i looked up if ants can feel fear, and turns out, they can’t! later on, i looked into it more, and DUDE THEY ARE SO AWESOME

it’s so cool cause like, yeah, ants don’t feel fear in the same way we do, BUT they show behaviour that assumes they can realise and actually respond to potential problems. they have this cool sensory system that helps them detect changes in environment, like potential predators being around or something dangerous idk anymore. and so when they’re threatened, they release these “alarm pheromones” that signal other ants in the colony to do defence actions (fleeing or attacking or something similar). similar to a fear reaction, as that it involves avoiding a perceived threat. however they still do not have the cognitive capacity to understand or show fear as humans can, responses are based on instinct and adaptations from evaluation over time

god i need an animal rants tag at this point

[lonelymyrmecologist]

I had a bug land on my shoulder and I was like “oh! What a beautiful end to National Moth Week! A gorgeous wasp mimic! You are doing so good my friend!” And I gave it a little kiss and it flew off after a few more moments of sitting on my shoulder.

But I got a picture of it pollinating for iNaturalist and looked closer and…there aren’t any moths with that stripe pattern.

[lonelymyrmecologist]

Green Woodpecker/gröngöling (juvenile). Värmland, Sweden (July 27, 2024).

[lonelymyrmecologist]

[lonelymyrmecologist]

[lonelymyrmecologist]

Two weeks ago I found a piece of grass with a dead ant clamped to the top of it and was like wait... no way... so kept it, and now it's sprouting! Everyone say hi to the mind controlling fungus cordyceps! I feel strangely compelled to share it widely!

[lonelymyrmecologist]

It's my 10 year anniversary on Tumblr 🥳

[lonelymyrmecologist]

[lonelymyrmecologist]

why have i been disgraced