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ZorbaTHut  2yr ago (text post)   3691 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for September 30, 2022

Be advised; this thread is not for serious in depth discussion of weighty topics, this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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Something really fascinating, at least to me: I was walking in front of a bee hive doing evening orientation flights, where workers take their first flights outside the hive to learn navigation landmarks. Even to my stuffed-up nose there was a strong lemony smell of the Nasonov beacon pheromone they use when swarming or when you've housed or moved the hive, with a few bees standing in the entrance fanning it out to guide returning trainees who might have gotten lost.

Been working with them for years, but I keep being amazed by how coordinated everything they do is. I've never smelled them using it except when swarming, but in retrospect of course they'd use it like this too.

Apparently people can only detect a few of the stronger pheromones, and some can't even smell those. It's nice to be able to smell them getting angry just before they all pour out and attack (tangy banana peel means "check your suit seals"), but it would be amazing to experience the subtler ones too.

Honestly, yeah, that's out of left field and I never thought about it, but it is fascinating.

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