Comment on myrmecology
wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz 1 day agoExcept for the part where they breed captive aphids and corral them to and from plants so they can feed, only to lacerate their exoskeletons and feed on their secretions while keeping them alive to do it again…
brown567@sh.itjust.works 1 day ago
Lacerate their exoskeleton? Do you have a source for that? According to Wikipedia, the honeydew is excreted from the aphids’ anus and happens even when the ants aren’t involved en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphid#Ant_mutualism
wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz 23 hours ago
I coulda sworn I’ve read somewhere that they make a light incision to get to the honeydew, but it could be a false memory. I’m not gonna go looking for where I read that, but I’ll accept “they eat ass” as a correct answer.