Only in highly diverse ecosystems do we see the full range of fungus-farming strategies. Simpler ecosystems may support just one or two types.

There’s also an assumption that larger colonies and greater worker polymorphism are more "derived" traits. That may be true, but I remain uneasy with the implication.

2/2

Much of the literature on leafcutter ants draws a sharp line between "higher" and "lower" attines. The lower attines are thought to resemble ancestral forms and show simpler adaptations.

But from an ecosystem-wide perspective, the coexistence of both—lower attines with smaller colonies and specialized niches, and higher attines with mass leaf harvesting and extreme worker polymorphism—signals a richer ecosystem.
1/

Kinda like it but way too messy and poly heavy. Will retopo a sub-D version over but it's a bit different to the animals and skeletons that I'm used to doing.

Gun object exported out of SDF modeller and the helix tube added in Blender. The extended barrel was an afterthought to make it look a bit meaner.

Call me morbid but this is fascinating.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81qjbdDB0-w

My 25 years of palaeoart chronology...

A 2023 illustration of Tyrannosaurus rex, from DINOSAUR BEHAVIOUR, by Prof Michael Benton (published by Princeton University Press).

#Art #Painting #PaleoArt #PalaeoArt #SciArt #SciComm #DigitalArt #Illustration #Dinosaurs #Birds #Reptiles #Palaeontology #Paleontology #Trex #Tyrannosaurus #TyrannosaurusRex #JurassicPark #JurassicWorld #WildlifeArt

#paleoart

Abyssosaurus nataliae

Been having a go with with SDF modeller
Pretty good for prototyping the shape

wikipedia: "On the border of the Very Large Colony and the Lake Hodges Colony thirty million ants die each year, on a battlefront that covers many miles. While the battles of other ant species generally constitute colony raids lasting a few hours, or skirmishes that occur periodically for a few weeks, Argentine ants clash ceaselessly; the borders of their territory are a site of constant violence and battles can be fought on top of hundreds of dead ants."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentine_ant#Behavior

#ants

For the mid section I'm going for a spiral fuel feed rather than the typical row of donuts type structure

Add your own zany concept to explain the 'science' if you fancy it 😀

... a little animal is *staring* at me. What should I do???

I like the idea of aliens that aren't "intelligent" in any way that we'd recognize. They just mastered space flight to keep doing what they have always done. In the case of ants? Raising queens and drones to fly far and wide to make new colonies.

:: An alien spacecraft lands on Earth. However, because it is so small, almost no one notices. It is like a tiny meteor—a shooting star entering the upper atmosphere. Then the spacecraft opens, and the ants exit: perfectly ordinary ants, not super-intelligent just regular ants.

They've found a new way to conduct their nuptial flight. They're going places ants have never gone before.

One of my very favourite writers, Andrew Rilstone, has very kindly gifted my a year's access to his Patreon.

I am astonished, I mean absolutely boggled, to discover that Patreon accounts do not have RSS feeds.

What on earth?!

-- Mike.

"The president of the region of Sicily, Renato Schifani, said experts had assured him there was "no danger for the population", with the flow not having passed the Valley of the Lion, an area frequented by tourists."
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250602-massive-plume-of-ash-gas-spews-from-italy-s-mount-etna

you know what. Let's not beard the volcano in the Valley of the Lion today.

#volcano
#etna

everyone has heard about orchids, but somehow, xorchids, andchids, nandchids, norchids, and xnorchids never get in the limelight.

#logic

My 25 years of palaeoart chronology...

A 2023 illustration of a nocturnal Shuvuuia (Alvarezsauridae) hunting for invertebrates in deadwood, from DINOSAUR BEHAVIOUR, by Prof Michael Benton (published by Princeton University Press).

#Art #Painting #PaleoArt #PalaeoArt #SciArt #SciComm #DigitalArt #Illustration #Dinosaurs #Birds #Reptiles #Palaeontology #Paleontology #Shuvuuia #Alvarezsauridae #JurassicPark #JurassicWorld #WildlifeArt

Bear-i-winkle #bears 🐚 🐻
#cartoon #watercolor #watercolour

I want to give Dr. Don a hug for the umbrage he takes to those of us who have said NZ has a surprisingly low number of ant species. He assures us that the species complex will bring the numbers up… but up to what? Two dozen? That’s still not very many ants!
(I have to like anyone who defends their local ants, though)

Camponotus is the most speciose of ant genera, yet it's not unheard of for them to be absent from island ecosystems. (see UK) You're likely familiar with Camponotus by their common name: carpenter ants. Large friendly ants who often nest in rotting wood, soil, or leaf litter. But when you look at the entire genus, the diversity is staggering. Some nest in twigs, others build carton nests from a mixture of silk and dead leaves. Some farm aphids, while others are specialized hunters.