Comment on Shirley, you can't be serious

• Redjard@reddthat.com ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Then, other than their genetic code, what else is copied between individuals? Is their brain fully encoded in their chromosomes? Does the queen ant go and copy the same brain into all worker ants? Do the worker ants, when pupating, connect to the colonies wifi network and download the current neuronal image for network booting?
  Do they share their fingerprints (for example hair placement) too?

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  • MeatPilot@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Insects are complex and different in how they process information. Ants are smart for insects, but still not fully individuals in the same way we look at mamamilian brains.

    wildlifeinformer.com/do-ants-have-brains/

    The simple answer is thoughts are pheromones. Essentially one ant shares it’s individual experiences with the entire colony and the colony all works for the same goals. So yeah they kinda connect to the colony organic wifi.

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    • Redjard@reddthat.com ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      So every ant, clone or not, is probably set up to only function in a colony.

      And I assume the genetics determine the language, so that even related ant nests don’t merge but stay distinct?

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      • MeatPilot@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        I’m not as knowledgeable about ant genetics as the other fellow. But I do know ants recognize each other from the same colony through chemical signals.

        There are insects that can hijack that, I think rival ants can even trick the ants of another colony to kill their own queen. There are also rival queens that can kill another queen and the rest of colony thinks that’s their queen.

        So they are heavy into identification through chemical means over anything else. Genetics has not a lot to do with identification.

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      • wyldrstallyns@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        The “language” you speak of is more often expressed via pheromones rather than sound xor gesture, where ants are concerned —similar to the majority of the insect kingdom, and beyond.

        Here’re some more ant facts! ~among~ ~ridiculousness~

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  • Bay_of_Piggies@hexbear.net ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    The argument is that ant colonies are better understood as organisms themselves with the individuals acting more like limbs.

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    • Redjard@reddthat.com ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Which you can argue for, but doesn’t stem from them being all almost twins.

      I can say Humans are 99.6% genetically identical, and I can say nations are kinda like independent organisms (more sketchy a statement than for ants), but I definitely can’t say Humans are 99.6% genetically identical, and thus nations are kinda like independent organisms.

      “Ants are almost twins” is not the cause of “Ants are not really autonomous individuals”

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      • wyldrstallyns@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        [deleted]

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• Rugnjr@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Are you aware of what identical twins are?

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