M.Maurysiek

EDIT: Originally I also included a link to an article, about a tool that could be used to trick face scans for ID checks. I've since been informed that the tool has actually been non-functional for months, checking the GitHub for the tool itself confirms this. I'm very sorry about sharing that link without check on the tool itself!

The markings, posture, and movements of a Brenthia moth (genus Brenthia, also known as a metalmark moth) all contribute to its disguise; the moths move around in short, jerky motions that mimic the movements of a jumping spider, and their hindwings are covered in black-and-white bands that strongly resemble the tucked-in legs of a salticiid spider, especially when the moth displays its unique wing position. The disguise serves as a defensive strategy, enabling the moth to avoid being preyed upon by actual jumping spiders.

In some cases, that disguise may work a little too well, as jumping spiders may actually mistake the moth for a potential mate and then attempt to engage it in a courtship/mating dance (which must be a pretty awkward and bizarre experience for the moth, tbh).

The resemblance between a Brenthia moth and a jumping spider may not seem terribly convincing to us, as human beings, but as this article explains:

When discussing animals mimicking their predator, it is important to remember that we humans are not the target audience. This means that the imitator may not look too convincing in its mimicry to us, but still manages to trigger a desired response from said predator.

Jumping spiders have also been known to respond to Brenthia moths by exhibiting a territorial display, which is yet another behavior that the spiders generally reserve for other spiders.

This study expands on the adaptive benefits of the moth's disguise:

In controlled trials, Brenthia had higher survival rates than other similarly sized moths in the presence of jumping spiders and jumping spiders responded to Brenthia with territorial displays, indicating that Brenthia were sometimes mistaken for jumping spiders, and not recognized as prey.

The illustration below shows the basic/general resemblance between a Brenthia moth and a jumping spider:

Sources & More Info:

New Scientist: Moth's Disguise is so Good, Spiders Love it Instead of Eating it

Animal Behaviour: Sheep in Wolf's Clothing

Science: This Moth Could Pass for a Spider

PLOS ONE Journal: Metalmark Moths Mimic their Jumping Spider Predators

Gil Wizen: Jumping Spider Mimicry in Brenthia Moths

This species (Myrmecopsis polistes) may be one of the most impressive wasp-mimics in the world. The moth's narrow waist, teardrop-shaped abdomen, black-and-yellow patterning, transparent wings, smooth appearance, and folded wing position all mimic the features of a wasp. Unlike an actual wasp, however, it does not have any mandibles or biting/chewing mouthparts, because it's equipped with a proboscis instead, and it has noticeably "feathery" antennae.

There are many moths that use hymenopteran mimicry (the mimicry of bees, wasps, yellowjackets, hornets, and/or bumblebees, in particular) as a way to deter predators, and those mimics are often incredibly convincing. Myrmecopsis polistes is one of the best examples, but there are several other moths that have also mastered this form of mimicry.

Above: Pseudosphex laticincta, another moth species that mimics a yellowjacket

These disguises often involve more than just a physical resemblance; in many cases, the moths also engage in behavioral and/or acoustic mimicry, meaning that they can mimic the sounds and behaviors of their hymenopteran models. In some cases, the resemblance is so convincing that it even fools actual wasps/yellowjackets.

Above: Pseudosphex laticincta

Such a detailed and intricate disguise is unusual even among mimics. Researchers believe that it developed partly as a way for the moth to trick actual wasps into treating it like one of their own. Wasps frequently prey upon moths, but they are innately non-aggressive toward their own fellow nest-mates, which are identified by sight -- so if the moth can convincingly impersonate one of those nest-mates, then it can avoid being eaten by wasps.

Above: Pseudosphex laticincta

I gave an overview of the moths that mimic bees, wasps, yellowjackets, hornets, and bumblebees in one of my previous posts, but I felt that these two species (Myrmecopsis polistes and Pseudosphex laticincta) deserved to have their own dedicated post, because these are two of the most convincing mimics I have ever seen.

Above: Pseudosphex sp.

I think that moths in general are probably the most talented mimics in the natural world. They have so many intricate, unique disguises, and they often combine visual, behavioral, and acoustic forms of mimicry in order to produce an uncanny resemblance.

Several of these incredible mimics have already been featured on my blog: moths that mimic jumping spiders, a moth that mimics a broken birch twig, a moth caterpillar that can mimic a snake, a moth that disguises itself as two flies feeding on a pile of bird droppings, a moth that mimics a dried-up leaf, a moth that can mimic a cuckoo bee, and a moth that mimics the leaves of a poplar tree.

Moths are just so much more interesting than people generally realize.

Sources & More Info:

Journal of Ecology and Evolution: A Hypothesis to Explain Accuracy of Wasp Resemblances

Entomology Today: In Enemy Garb: A New Explanation for Wasp Mimicry

iNaturalist: Myrmecopsis polistes and Pseudosphex laticincta

Dandelions

OpenAI scraped the entire web. All of which had been a labor of love from humans. Wikipedia is the backbone of a lot of LLMs, and that was volunteer human labor. They stole it and now they're selling it back to us.

For @thepromptfoundry's Jazzy July

136 word Hazbin Hotel ficlet

~

The first instrument Alastor ever bought was a harmonica, a few cents, slightly squashed, secondhand from a man with a judgemental donkey and several missing fingers. 

The first he ever really learned, properly, to play was the paint-peeling old piano at his mamma’s church, where the preacher’s wife gave lessons and scolded him in French for changing the tempo to something more fun. 

And then generative ai was created.

And now I get it. I get why nobody on Star Trek spends all their free time in the holodeck. I get why all the crew are putting on stage plays, and holding music recitals, and building models, and playing poker. I get why everyone was so skeptical and mean to the Doctor on Voyager. I get why the ONE TIME we see someone obsessed with the holodeck it infringes on people’s likeness rights and permissions.

Because fundamentally at the end of the day we are human beings and we ENJOY working with our hands and making REAL human connections. A person who learns to play an instrument is always going to be viewed as an artist over someone who asks the computer to generate music for them.

Even as recent as Lower Decks they were making fun of the fact that the crew were putting on amateurish plays and holding music recitals. But after living with Ai for so long and seeing how detrimental it’s been to the world… I’d much rather watch my friends put on a stage play than “participate” in a holodeck movie.

What’s most amazing about this is that it was completely unintentional. I do not for one second think that the writers of the time in the 90’s were really thinking about the larger issues that generative ai and chatGTP would cause. How could they? Text to speech back then was still robotic as heck. More likely they wrote that stuff in because it was cheaper to film on sets the owned than try to build, film, or rent out different locations each week.

That’s the down to earth logistical real reason Data is reciting poems about his cat or Riker is in a play put on in ten forward. It’s just cheaper to do that than to build a whole new set or move production to a new location.

Yet at the end of the day, I think that unintentionally speaks to a very human need that ai is making more and more prevalent to us day in and day out.

whatever predator caused the need for eridians to watch each other sleep is still very prevalent even in densely populated areas. and it turns out they’re some kind of slow moving, low to the ground stealth predator that takes a lot of intense focus to detect even when in pretty close range. fortunately grace can see them coming from a mile away with some good lights on.

imagine grace gets a proper xenonite atmosphere suit and he puts it on for teaching the pebbles so if any fall asleep (involuntary for eridians) then he can just scoop them up and keep them on his desk for easier watching. when the parents find out they’re thrilled because dang that’s a good watching strategy, easy for the whole class to see!

alternatively a majority of his pebbles fall asleep mid class and he dons his xenonite suit to come in and pile them altogether to watch and just hangs out with the remaining few who’re still awake. makes them feel included and helpful and answers less educational questions and jokes around because they’re too small to actually be effective for watching for predators and he needs to keep them calm. a pile of pebbles are appealing prey and he ends up with a pile of 6 fuckass alien millipedes in the corner.

relating to the last one, one of grace’s pebble students is lost in a crowd and runs to him to be scooped up til their parents are located bc grace is well established to be good at keeping pebbles safe from predators.

https://archiveofourown.org/chapters/229158536?

swwirlingstars if u see this just know i’ll love u forever for writing this tyyyyyyyy