<![CDATA[Trillium season.]]>Trillium season.

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]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/topic/2f17fe2a-ee49-4ee0-9120-53259c3f078c/trillium-season.RSS for NodeFri, 15 May 2026 06:55:45 GMTWed, 06 May 2026 17:37:03 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to Trillium season. on Thu, 07 May 2026 02:30:51 GMT]]>@michaelgemar @neckspike @camless @scruss @NuanceRhymesWithOrange

*sings*

Ant garbage is the place to be
Myrmecochory is a ride for free
Detritus spread out far and wide
keep the canopy let ant refuse be my guide!

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://sauropods.win/users/futurebird/statuses/116530941218663077https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://sauropods.win/users/futurebird/statuses/116530941218663077Thu, 07 May 2026 02:30:51 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Trillium season. on Thu, 07 May 2026 02:24:02 GMT]]>@neckspike @futurebird @camless @scruss @NuanceRhymesWithOrange I’m hearing the Green Acres theme song…

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://cosocial.ca/ap/users/116274777763908831/statuses/116530914434567694https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://cosocial.ca/ap/users/116274777763908831/statuses/116530914434567694Thu, 07 May 2026 02:24:02 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Trillium season. on Thu, 07 May 2026 02:17:22 GMT]]>@futurebird

@michaelgemar @camless @scruss @NuanceRhymesWithOrange ANT GARBAGE IS THE PLACE TO BE

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://indiepocalypse.social/users/neckspike/statuses/116530888212826847https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://indiepocalypse.social/users/neckspike/statuses/116530888212826847Thu, 07 May 2026 02:17:22 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Trillium season. on Thu, 07 May 2026 02:03:31 GMT]]>@futurebird @camless every time I think the world has got weird enough, there's a little wasp somewhere making it even weirder

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://xoxo.zone/users/scruss/statuses/116530833777120732https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://xoxo.zone/users/scruss/statuses/116530833777120732Thu, 07 May 2026 02:03:31 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Trillium season. on Thu, 07 May 2026 01:56:46 GMT]]>@xenotrope @camless @scruss @NuanceRhymesWithOrange

And flora... it's all over the place.

Sometimes I feel like people aren't astonished enough by the implications of plant galls.

It's scifi stuff.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://sauropods.win/users/futurebird/statuses/116530807233843578https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://sauropods.win/users/futurebird/statuses/116530807233843578Thu, 07 May 2026 01:56:46 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Trillium season. on Thu, 07 May 2026 01:55:53 GMT]]>@camless @scruss @NuanceRhymesWithOrange

I really love this infographic because of the "action shots" showing the ants interacting with the galls and the seeds.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://sauropods.win/users/futurebird/statuses/116530803740327266https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://sauropods.win/users/futurebird/statuses/116530803740327266Thu, 07 May 2026 01:55:53 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Trillium season. on Thu, 07 May 2026 01:55:03 GMT]]>@futurebird @camless @scruss @NuanceRhymesWithOrange Now that's what I'd call "interesting fauna".

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://bsd.network/users/xenotrope/statuses/116530800464476348https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://bsd.network/users/xenotrope/statuses/116530800464476348Thu, 07 May 2026 01:55:03 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Trillium season. on Thu, 07 May 2026 01:45:59 GMT]]>@futurebird @camless @scruss @NuanceRhymesWithOrange

This is a neat question. There are bacteria that inject DNA into plant cells, that encodes a protein that activates other genes and turns on a whole genetic program to make gall-like structures that the bacteria live in. I wonder if the wasps use commensal bacteria to do the same thing!

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mas.to/users/stevegis_ssg/statuses/116530764808779021https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mas.to/users/stevegis_ssg/statuses/116530764808779021Thu, 07 May 2026 01:45:59 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Trillium season. on Thu, 07 May 2026 01:43:23 GMT]]>@michaelgemar @camless @scruss @NuanceRhymesWithOrange

They take them back to their nest and remove the elisome. Then they toss the gall in their garbage pile. And that's seems to be where everyone (seeds, baby wasps in galls) wants to be. In the ant garbage for some reason.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://sauropods.win/users/futurebird/statuses/116530754593101977https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://sauropods.win/users/futurebird/statuses/116530754593101977Thu, 07 May 2026 01:43:23 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Trillium season. on Thu, 07 May 2026 01:42:07 GMT]]>@futurebird @camless @scruss @NuanceRhymesWithOrange Where do the ants take the galls? Back to their nest?

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://cosocial.ca/ap/users/116274777763908831/statuses/116530749619734288https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://cosocial.ca/ap/users/116274777763908831/statuses/116530749619734288Thu, 07 May 2026 01:42:07 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Trillium season. on Thu, 07 May 2026 01:31:14 GMT]]>@camless @scruss @NuanceRhymesWithOrange

Those structures are NOT the eggs of the wasp. It's grown by the oak tree. Those are oak tree cells that have been tricked by the power of the wasps and their larvae to make this strange structure that seems to not benefit the tree at all.

How do wasps make plants do these things for them? Can you make a tree grow in the shape of a nice house for YOUR child?

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://sauropods.win/users/futurebird/statuses/116530706825039556https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://sauropods.win/users/futurebird/statuses/116530706825039556Thu, 07 May 2026 01:31:14 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Trillium season. on Thu, 07 May 2026 01:29:12 GMT]]>@camless @scruss @NuanceRhymesWithOrange

OK. Prepare to have your mind blown. You thought Myrmecochory was wild? Plants that get ants to move their seeds? How about wasps that mimic such seeds by inducing an Oak tree to grow a gall with an elisome (the yummy part that makes the ants want to move it)

That's right, some gall-making wasps create galls that are dispersed by ants using the myrmecochory behavioral template from seeds!

🤯

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]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://sauropods.win/users/futurebird/statuses/116530698813592927https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://sauropods.win/users/futurebird/statuses/116530698813592927Thu, 07 May 2026 01:29:12 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Trillium season. on Wed, 06 May 2026 22:09:58 GMT]]>@otte_homan only if they like weird old European coffee

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://xoxo.zone/users/scruss/statuses/116529915377718900https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://xoxo.zone/users/scruss/statuses/116529915377718900Wed, 06 May 2026 22:09:58 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Trillium season. on Wed, 06 May 2026 20:22:35 GMT]]>@futurebird Ah, but they do get added benefits! A plant growing right in their homes! @camless @scruss @NuanceRhymesWithOrange

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://troet.cafe/users/energisch_/statuses/116529493149305993https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://troet.cafe/users/energisch_/statuses/116529493149305993Wed, 06 May 2026 20:22:35 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Trillium season. on Wed, 06 May 2026 20:20:52 GMT]]>@energisch_ @camless @scruss @NuanceRhymesWithOrange

Ants wondering why the groceries come with so much heavy junk mail!

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://sauropods.win/users/futurebird/statuses/116529486405587508https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://sauropods.win/users/futurebird/statuses/116529486405587508Wed, 06 May 2026 20:20:52 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Trillium season. on Wed, 06 May 2026 20:19:25 GMT]]>@futurebird Plants with smart mobility tactics! @camless @scruss @NuanceRhymesWithOrange

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://troet.cafe/users/energisch_/statuses/116529480694571111https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://troet.cafe/users/energisch_/statuses/116529480694571111Wed, 06 May 2026 20:19:25 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Trillium season. on Wed, 06 May 2026 20:15:54 GMT]]>@camless @scruss @NuanceRhymesWithOrange

"Myrmecochory" is literally "ant walking" because these kinds of plants have little ant treats stuck to their seeds and the ants discover they have to drag the whole seed just to get the good bit back to their nest... which is often a great place for a seed to grow.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://sauropods.win/users/futurebird/statuses/116529466837678730https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://sauropods.win/users/futurebird/statuses/116529466837678730Wed, 06 May 2026 20:15:54 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Trillium season. on Wed, 06 May 2026 19:21:24 GMT]]>@NuanceRhymesWithOrange It's slightly unfair on entomologists, as that word basically means "we slice up dead bugs", and it's not *just* about the slicing ...

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://xoxo.zone/users/scruss/statuses/116529252581201891https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://xoxo.zone/users/scruss/statuses/116529252581201891Wed, 06 May 2026 19:21:24 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Trillium season. on Wed, 06 May 2026 19:13:14 GMT]]>@scruss my wife is nodding and saying "this is true", so I guess it checks out.

Entomologists who are also etymologists... Gets confusing!

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mstdn.social/users/NuanceRhymesWithOrange/statuses/116529220478461782https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mstdn.social/users/NuanceRhymesWithOrange/statuses/116529220478461782Wed, 06 May 2026 19:13:14 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Trillium season. on Wed, 06 May 2026 17:59:33 GMT]]>@scruss @NuanceRhymesWithOrange @futurebird Another ant fact?!

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://m.ai6yr.org/users/camless/statuses/116528930714379025https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://m.ai6yr.org/users/camless/statuses/116528930714379025Wed, 06 May 2026 17:59:33 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Trillium season. on Wed, 06 May 2026 17:53:04 GMT]]>@NuanceRhymesWithOrange a great excuse to use the word "myrmecochorous" (having seeds that are dispersed by ants), because that's what Trilliums are.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://xoxo.zone/users/scruss/statuses/116528905206030233https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://xoxo.zone/users/scruss/statuses/116528905206030233Wed, 06 May 2026 17:53:04 GMT