Comment on Spidey Senses
SculptusPoe@lemmy.world 3 days ago
Are ants so visual? I guess so, or there wouldn’t be enough advantage for these guys to develop. I thought they went purely by sensing pheromones.
Comment on Spidey Senses
SculptusPoe@lemmy.world 3 days ago
Are ants so visual? I guess so, or there wouldn’t be enough advantage for these guys to develop. I thought they went purely by sensing pheromones.
SGforce@lemmy.ca 3 days ago
Maybe it isn’t just fooling ants?
Don’t know the advantage to fooling everything else but they are convincing. Worked in a warehouse that had a bunch of the red ones one summer. Everybody thought there was an ant problem but they seemed off to me. Firstly, they were never in groups, you’d only find lone ones wandering. Secondly, they walked like ants but held their “antennae” strangely. Lastly, when knocking one off a box I discovered they have a tether thread.
Gullible@sh.itjust.works 3 days ago
Ants are rarely visual, but I’m also struggling to figure out which predator this is meant to dissuade.
seaplant@slrpnk.net 3 days ago
The Wikipedia page on ant mimicry is full of fun facts, but the relevant bits:
But also (not specific to Myrmarachne):
emeralddawn45@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 days ago
Thats actually wild, they can smell like ants and are convincing enough to pass a physical ant patdown. Crazy.
SolarMonkey@slrpnk.net 3 days ago
Consider: the goal isn’t for predators to be fooled, but prey.
Lots of things consider ants totally harmless, like aphids that gets farmed and stuff. Perhaps it’s an adaptation to throw those things off.
Gullible@sh.itjust.works 3 days ago
Aphids are borderline mindless, their chief strategy is simply breeding more aphids. I’ve gleefully spectated ladybugs devouring dozens of aphids, and not a single one responded in any way. Tiny dead idiots.
You might be on the right track, but I’m still struggling.
pmtriste@lemmy.world 3 days ago
Ah, so these spiders look like ants to fool the aphids that ants farm. Similar to how something that looked a lot like a human might fool cows and sheep into following them away to be eaten.
blackbrook@mander.xyz 3 days ago
I would guess it’s to fool their prey.