Kendrick Nakamura

@soulsynapse.bsky.social

1082 Followers 1653 Following

PhD student @ ASU's Social Insect Research Group 🐜🐝 ants, bees, wasps, social behavior, phylogenetics, evolutionary game theory ❤️ Community science, documenting the natural history of ants @ AntSciHub.com, discord.gg/antkeeping, reddit.com/r/antkeeping

Text in image of paper, last sentence highlighted: A transparent substrate (polystyrene scrap of chopped plastic bottles) was added to the containers to simulate forest litter. Methodological experiments revealed that, under these conditions, ants displayed hunting and searching behavior, whereas no such behavior was observed in containers with springtails but without litter-like substrate. It may be suggested that litter (or litter-like substrate) provides both shelter for prey and a system of hunting traps, thereby facilitating the prey-catching behavior of those predators who are capable of bringing potential prey to bay.

Camponotus floridanus not climbing a test tube covered in cornstarch baby powder

a pronged adapter for an air hose

Ants preparing for a mating flight, immediately eaten by the videographer's dog

Ant feeder covered in Pheidole rhea

An ant that is at least half transparent!