Annalee Newitz 🍜Oct 11

I cannot stop thinking about this paper about how Iberian harvester ants can produce offspring of two entirely different species. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-02524-8

cc: @futurebird

Ant queens produce sons of two distinct species

The discovery of an unusual reproductive system for one ant species solves a long-standing puzzle about a missing population of another ant species.

Show threadWinchell Chung ⚛🚀Oct 11

@annaleen @futurebird

That is just begging to be used in a science fiction story. Because yet again truth is stranger than fiction

Show threadmyrmepropagandistOct 11

@nyrath @annaleen

It's in the story I'm working on! Not a major plot point ... but part of the history of the moon ants.

Yes. The moon ants.

But I promise this is a "grounded" SF story.

Show threadCharlie Stross
@futurebird @nyrath @annaleen It's in my stack of notes for the (currently merely hypothetical) third Authority novel. (It's a space opera setting that isn't in print yet, because I'm working on a huge mid-career pivot back to space opera in the next few years.)
Oct 11 at 3:44pmWeb
Show threadcpmOct 11

@cstross
awesome!

Stay strong!

looking forward to it

@futurebird @nyrath @annaleen