C
@cinnabarneon.bsky.social
Cyberpunk natural historian, and several other things too.
(Think saproxylic insects and marine biology and weird aridland flora; I'm not John Muir.)
(Think saproxylic insects and marine biology and weird aridland flora; I'm not John Muir.)
Understandable, and fair.
February 18, 2026 at 6:02 AM
Understandable, and fair.
(I must confess that my cognitive functions are degrading so exponentially from the Complex Dynamics Famine Affair that even a rough estimate would be severely appreciated, for reasons best known to myself and fairly unrelated to [the coiled sun].)
February 18, 2026 at 5:54 AM
(I must confess that my cognitive functions are degrading so exponentially from the Complex Dynamics Famine Affair that even a rough estimate would be severely appreciated, for reasons best known to myself and fairly unrelated to [the coiled sun].)
Pardon my lack of manners today, but whenistheplaytestandorfullgamelikelytobeavailablecanyougivearoughestimateifaclearestimateisnotpossiblepleaseandthankyou?
February 18, 2026 at 5:50 AM
Pardon my lack of manners today, but whenistheplaytestandorfullgamelikelytobeavailablecanyougivearoughestimateifaclearestimateisnotpossiblepleaseandthankyou?
If you're not aware this is formally(!) known as the "fortress defense" mode of eusociality, if you wish to look into the topic on your own time.
February 17, 2026 at 3:54 AM
If you're not aware this is formally(!) known as the "fortress defense" mode of eusociality, if you wish to look into the topic on your own time.
Lastly, note that highly social membracids and eusocial aphids (also gall thrips, sponge shrimps, etc.) deploy much of their social complexity specifically under the threat of danger, for the same reasons less social hoppers are so athletic to flee famine and predation. Sedentary unless *disturbed*.
February 17, 2026 at 3:48 AM
Lastly, note that highly social membracids and eusocial aphids (also gall thrips, sponge shrimps, etc.) deploy much of their social complexity specifically under the threat of danger, for the same reasons less social hoppers are so athletic to flee famine and predation. Sedentary unless *disturbed*.
(Inaudible courtship singing is also present in most if not all heteropterans.)
February 17, 2026 at 3:39 AM
(Inaudible courtship singing is also present in most if not all heteropterans.)
Also, even though most sucking hoppers are (relatively) asocial, probably all sucking hoppers can sing (in most cases inaudibly), usually for courtship. After all, cicadas are a type of hopper that doesn't jump as well.
February 17, 2026 at 3:39 AM
Also, even though most sucking hoppers are (relatively) asocial, probably all sucking hoppers can sing (in most cases inaudibly), usually for courtship. After all, cicadas are a type of hopper that doesn't jump as well.
(I do know, however, that in aphids feeding is not physiologically identical to sleep; Acyrthosiphon pisum rarely feeds during the night because it apparently has to sleep then.)
February 17, 2026 at 3:32 AM
(I do know, however, that in aphids feeding is not physiologically identical to sleep; Acyrthosiphon pisum rarely feeds during the night because it apparently has to sleep then.)
Also, if real leafhoppers have souls (no one knows if insects are conscious or not) I wonder if the only conscious emotion they feel is stress. After all, feeding and arguably mating is so sleep-like to them that it seems conceivable that they would stop being conscious while feeding to save energy.
February 17, 2026 at 3:32 AM
Also, if real leafhoppers have souls (no one knows if insects are conscious or not) I wonder if the only conscious emotion they feel is stress. After all, feeding and arguably mating is so sleep-like to them that it seems conceivable that they would stop being conscious while feeding to save energy.
In any case, I know for sure that hoppers in general (membracids, stereotypical leafhoppers, wax planthoppers, etc.) are ultrasedentary unless stressed, the notoriously lazy aphids/scales merely being an exaggeration of this natural tendency.
February 17, 2026 at 3:28 AM
In any case, I know for sure that hoppers in general (membracids, stereotypical leafhoppers, wax planthoppers, etc.) are ultrasedentary unless stressed, the notoriously lazy aphids/scales merely being an exaggeration of this natural tendency.
Perhaps you may already be aware of this but membracid researchers are undoubtedly biased primarily towards the social and parental species, and it is also my impression most membracids seem to be relatively asocial (don't quote me on the latter part).
February 17, 2026 at 3:28 AM
Perhaps you may already be aware of this but membracid researchers are undoubtedly biased primarily towards the social and parental species, and it is also my impression most membracids seem to be relatively asocial (don't quote me on the latter part).
Re: horses, with the ape thing I was indeed deliberately oversimplifying; I've heard it said that gorillas have a uneventfulness-hedonism mindset that's arguably kind of treehopper-like. Which is not to say that zoos shouldn't provide gorillas with enclosure enrichment, they do still play.
February 17, 2026 at 3:19 AM
Re: horses, with the ape thing I was indeed deliberately oversimplifying; I've heard it said that gorillas have a uneventfulness-hedonism mindset that's arguably kind of treehopper-like. Which is not to say that zoos shouldn't provide gorillas with enclosure enrichment, they do still play.
Related: substack.com/home/post/p-...
So You've Decided To Become Dead To The World
on becoming an anchoress
substack.com
February 17, 2026 at 2:51 AM
Related: substack.com/home/post/p-...
I mean, alates of wing-dimorphic insects are well known for suffering significant fitness costs (incl. fecundity, size, sometimes even lifespan) in exchange for flight ability, if you catch my drift.
February 17, 2026 at 2:48 AM
I mean, alates of wing-dimorphic insects are well known for suffering significant fitness costs (incl. fecundity, size, sometimes even lifespan) in exchange for flight ability, if you catch my drift.
And about winglessness maybe being a symbol of freedom to them (with wings perhaps having been historically socially stigmatized in their culture to some extent?), and how modern macropterous [shepherds] think about wingness in relation to their personal identities under this historical context.
February 17, 2026 at 2:41 AM
And about winglessness maybe being a symbol of freedom to them (with wings perhaps having been historically socially stigmatized in their culture to some extent?), and how modern macropterous [shepherds] think about wingness in relation to their personal identities under this historical context.
But I liked thinking about how maybe a lot of their foodies would maybe be more interested in other species' spa or nap stuff than said other species' culinary traditions, because sap-drinking is arguably pretty like human sociocultural attitudes towards Hot Comfy Bath.
February 17, 2026 at 2:41 AM
But I liked thinking about how maybe a lot of their foodies would maybe be more interested in other species' spa or nap stuff than said other species' culinary traditions, because sap-drinking is arguably pretty like human sociocultural attitudes towards Hot Comfy Bath.
Now, obviously they aren't real leafhoppers and if their lives were allowed to become too grindy/uneventful evolution'd just make them into nonsapient cochineal-equivalents, which they obviously also aren't.
February 17, 2026 at 2:41 AM
Now, obviously they aren't real leafhoppers and if their lives were allowed to become too grindy/uneventful evolution'd just make them into nonsapient cochineal-equivalents, which they obviously also aren't.
I mean, real leafhoppers are athletic and all, but unlike say an ant or an ape they don't wander to eat, they wander when they can't eat and apparently prefer their lives be as uneventful as possible [re: my anecdote on contented leafhoppers simply not locomoting for the rest of their lives].
February 17, 2026 at 2:41 AM
I mean, real leafhoppers are athletic and all, but unlike say an ant or an ape they don't wander to eat, they wander when they can't eat and apparently prefer their lives be as uneventful as possible [re: my anecdote on contented leafhoppers simply not locomoting for the rest of their lives].
The most interesting thing I've seen so far about them being sap hemipteran inspired (as opposed to by any superficially similar group of insects) 'd be how being descended from a fundamentally sedendary ecological strategy would undoubtedly influence their sociocultural dynamics, in my opinion.
February 17, 2026 at 2:41 AM
The most interesting thing I've seen so far about them being sap hemipteran inspired (as opposed to by any superficially similar group of insects) 'd be how being descended from a fundamentally sedendary ecological strategy would undoubtedly influence their sociocultural dynamics, in my opinion.
You also have to have the thief mask to steal, if you steal with a different mask it's apparently against the rules.
February 5, 2026 at 3:41 AM
You also have to have the thief mask to steal, if you steal with a different mask it's apparently against the rules.
Also sorry I 4got to answer part of your question: yes, people do provide for each other in ways outside of theft. For example, a gift is given in a certain festival.
February 5, 2026 at 3:36 AM
Also sorry I 4got to answer part of your question: yes, people do provide for each other in ways outside of theft. For example, a gift is given in a certain festival.
The theft part is the only part of the entire island I liked.
February 5, 2026 at 3:32 AM
The theft part is the only part of the entire island I liked.
Please read the rest of my reply; I was typing while you were typing so now the thread has bifurcated. Long story short: yes there is an ethics to theft but it's weird.
Also, I don't like the rest of that culture, it seems too exoticized in an unhealthy way.
Also, I don't like the rest of that culture, it seems too exoticized in an unhealthy way.
February 5, 2026 at 3:31 AM
Please read the rest of my reply; I was typing while you were typing so now the thread has bifurcated. Long story short: yes there is an ethics to theft but it's weird.
Also, I don't like the rest of that culture, it seems too exoticized in an unhealthy way.
Also, I don't like the rest of that culture, it seems too exoticized in an unhealthy way.
has been ritualized to the point where it has lost its original function. Perhaps the act of deliberately letting the thief see that one's purse has been secured is a sort of ritualized veiled threat ("steal from those unwary, because I'm wary enough that I might retaliate").
February 5, 2026 at 3:30 AM
has been ritualized to the point where it has lost its original function. Perhaps the act of deliberately letting the thief see that one's purse has been secured is a sort of ritualized veiled threat ("steal from those unwary, because I'm wary enough that I might retaliate").