Mastodawn

neville park

It's my birthday! So spent the day rambling around Tommy Thompson Park (the Leslie Street Spit) with my sister.

cc #Mosstodon

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neville park 2d ago

Spiders! A pretty little ground spider of some kind, a female _Pardosa lapidicina_ (the beaches were TEEMING with them), a little long-jawed orbweaver raking in the plentiful midges. There were a bunch more but I didn't have time to get pictures of them.

#DailySpiderPic #spiders #Araneae #Gnaphosidae #Lycosidae #Tetragnathidae #ArthroBeauty

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neville park 2d ago

Also came across this ant…event? Largely static, no one running around frantically, just pairs and small groups facing off.

I got stung by nettles taking this photo lol.

I told my sister I would ask an ant person (@futurebird) what was happening.

#bugstodon #insects #ants #Hymenoptera #Formicidae

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retech 2d ago

@nev @futurebird Neither wants to fight, each is going for the same resource, so they do but have guards from either side, just in case a fight breaks out.

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myrmepropagandist 2d ago

@nev

This is a war. They don't always really fight but will "pair off" to kind of measure which colony is bigger.

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neville park 2d ago

@futurebird thank you! Are they *Tetramorium* like I thought?

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myrmepropagandist 2d ago

@nev

The behavior is very Tetramorium.

Probably Tetramorium immigrans. They have been in the US for about 100 years now.

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Da_Gut 2d ago

@futurebird @nev oh. So if they were male, it would be a dick waving contest.

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Luo Binghe baculum truther 2d ago

@futurebird @nev Oh, neat! And then, I suppose. so long as the difference is worth speaking of, whatever resource is disputed goes to the bigger one, and the smaller one shuffles off looking embarrassed?

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