#eusocial

The hive-men of HALE-BOPP first showed up in print form back in 2016, for the cover of @imagecomics 's Island Magazine. I'm still keen on this piece - a dyson tree's crew receiving trade goods from a Euhumanist vessel, with the euhumanist security trooper eyeing his hive-equivalent suspiciously.

But the look and feel of the hive-men and their living space-suits were codified in sketches the preceding year, while i was still dreaming of an epic tale of hive-men colonizing mars (to be drawn by Matt Sheean).

This drawing in particular, from 2015, ended up getting snuck into last year's book, REFUGIUM, along with the Hale-Bopp Dyson Tree - EASTER EGGS FOR EVERYONE

Every other eusocial insect, for starters--all other species of ant included. Ant mimics and mymecophiles are also ostensibly gone.

Oh snap, it's the snapping shrimp post for Wet Beast Wednesday! Snapping shrimp or pistol shrimp are loud little critters that have evolves a very useful and fascinating tool in their pincers. Let's not waste time and shoot off to learn about these little gunslingers.

(Image: a pistol shrimp. It is a mostly white shrimp with red stripes. One of its claws is considerably larger than the other. It is standing on gravel and next to some seaweed. End ID)

Pistol shrimp are over 1,000 members of the family Alpheidae, which is part of the infraorder Caridea. This means they are true shrimp, not to be confused with superficially similar animals like brine shrimp, mantis shrimp, tadpole shrimp, and prawns. Yeah, I only recently learned that prawns and shrimp aren't a language difference between British English and American English like chips vs fries. They're not even that closely related. As true shrimp, pistol shrimp have two main body parts: the cephalothorax and abdomen, which are composed of 19 body segments. The abdomen forms a flexible tail with a fin on the end. When startled, the fin can rapidly curl under the body, propelling the shrimp backwards. Like other decapods, there are 10 limbs. The front pair of limbs have evolved into claws used to manipulate objects. The claws are the most distinguishing feature of pistol shrimp. They are asymmetrical, with one growing extremely large, over half the size of the body. The big claw has a modified version of the typical pincer. This pincer has an upper claw that can open up at a right angle. Under the claw is a pocket in the lower pincer, into which water flows. The upper pincer then slams down into this pocket, forcing the water out. The pressure of the pincer closing water in the pocket creates a cavitation bubble that is forced away from the claw at up to 26.8 meters per second. This is enough force to seriously wound small animals and hurt larger ones into leaving the shrimp alone. The cavitation bubbles can reach up to 4,427 degrees C (8,000 F) . For comparison, the surface of the sun is about 1,000 decrees (C) hotter. When the bubble pops, it creates a snapping sound that can reach 218 decibels. For comparison, most gunshots max out at around 170 db. This puts pistol shrimp is the running for the loudest ocean animals, with whales being the other main competitors. If that all sounds like a lot, the whole event happens so fast that the heat doesn't have time to affect much and the noise sounds like a moderately loud snap to us. Adults can snap their claws shut with an acceleration of up to 30 meters per second squared and juveniles can do it up to 20 times faster. The whole process takes less than a millisecond. When the cavitation bubble collapses, it can produce light. This is called sonoluminescence and nobody knows how it happens. If a pistol shrimp loses its large claw, the small claw will grow into a new large one while the missing limb will regenerate into a small claw. Adult pistol shrimp average between 3 and 5 cm long.

(Image: a drawing showing the process of a pistol shrimp snapping its claw. In the first panel, the claw is closed. In the second, the upper claw opens at a 90 degree angle, revealing a cavity. In the third panel, the cavity fills with water. In the final panel, the claw is closed again and a jet of water is ejected from the claw. End ID. Source: Wikipedia user Carermyers)

(Gif: black and white, slow-motion video of a pistol shrimp's claw snapping shut and creating a cavitation bubble. End ID. Source)

Pistol shrimp live worldwide, though most species live in tropical or temperate water. There are some cold water species and even freshwater species. Most prefer habitats where they can make burrows and where there are plenty of other animals. Coral reefs, oyster reefs, seagrass beds, mangrove groves are common habitats. Snapping is used for hunting and communication. They typically hide in burrows, waiting for fish or other small animals to pass by. When prey passes, the shrimp will snap to stun or seriously wound the prey, then drag it into the burrow. Some social species actually form eusocial hives with a single queen who produces all offspring. These shrimp are the only known marine eusocial species and all occur within the same genus (Synalpheus), though not every member of that genus is eusocial and eusociality appears to have evolved at least 3 times within that genus. It appears that a reason why only this genus developed eusociality is their larvae do not disperse, instead staying in the same area as the parents. The hives are usually located within sponges. Other social species are not eusocial, but still live together in colonies. Many less social species have formed a symbiotic relationship with gobies. Both species live in burrows, but gobies are bad at digging while the shrimp have poor eyesight. The goby will protect the shrimp while it digs a burrow, then the two live together. They will forage together, with the goby using its superior eyesight to watch for predators and warn the shrimp to get back to the burrow. Pistol shrimp are monogamous, the same pair coming back to mate over and over again (this does not apply to the eusocial species in which only the colony's queen is permitted to mate). The female is only fertile during a short period after molting. The male will stay with the female and protect her during the vulnerable period after mating and some species will remain with each other until the eggs hatch or permanently.

(Image: a eusocial pistol shrimp queen with eggs. Her body is translucent and multiple eggs are attached to her abdomen. The eggs look like translucent balls. The is inside of an orange sponge. End ID)

(Image: a pistol shrimp and goby emerging from a burrow in the sand. The shrimp is a mottled green and white. The body is a bright yellow fish covered with blue spots. End ID)

Pistol shrimp are a major source of noise in the places where they live. If you've ever been swimming and can hear repeated cracking noises, that may have been a bunch of pistol shrimp. Some scientists monitor the level of pistol shrimp noises as a method of monitoring the ecosystem. If the noise level drops, that is an indicator that the local ecosystem is suffering. The noise of the shrimps can get so loud that it actually interferes with sonar and forms of underwater communication. During World War II, members of the navy realized that the shrimp disrupted sonar enough to hide submarines, so they started hiding submarines near reefs with lots of the shrimp to keep them from being found by enemy subs. Weirdly not the only small marine animals to mess with submarines. I'll get the the other major one soon. The largest threats to pistol shrimp come from habitat destruction. Some species of pistol shrimp have entered the pet trade. As coral reefs, seagrass beds, and other habitats are destroyed, the shrimp that rely on them will suffer as well.

Yet another time I get to use one of these cards in a post

The prompt this week is a very exciting one: “Interpret the most amazing thing you know about nature” The first thing that came to mind was the concept of the “SUPERORGANISM”.

The term superorganism describes a social unit of eusocial animals that exhibit advanced levels of social organization. These animals are so deeply interconnected that they cannot survive on their own for extended periods. Instead, they function as a single entity, each member contributing to the whole in a way that allows the group to act as one living organism.

The most well-known examples of superorganisms are insects, particularly honey bees, certain wasps, ants, and termites. These species display remarkable coordination, where individual members specialize in different roles that serve the colony. I find honey bees especially fascinating when it comes to eusocial behavior.

A honey bee colony consists of three types of bees, each with a highly specialized role. The Queen Bee, the only fertile female in the hive, is responsible for laying eggs and controlling the colony through chemical signals known as pheromones. Worker bees, also female, perform all the hive's labor, including foraging for nectar and pollen, nursing larvae, defending the hive, and maintaining its structure. The drone bees, the male honeybees, have a singular purpose: to mate with the queen and pass on the colony’s genetic material.

This highly structured society allows honey bee colonies to function as a single, cohesive entity. The most amazing part? No single bee has complete control over the colony. Instead, their collective behavior emerges through communication and instinct. For example, when worker bees find a rich nectar source, they communicate its location to others through the famous "waggle dance." This dance conveys precise information about the direction and distance of the food source relative to the sun. Such sophisticated communication is a testament to how nature has evolved cooperation over millions of years.

Beyond bees, superorganism behavior is seen in other insects as well. Ants, for instance, form complex societies with specialized workers, soldiers, and reproductive individuals. Some species of army ants can even create bridges with their own bodies to allow safe passage for others. Termites build towering mounds that regulate temperature and humidity to create an ideal environment for their colony. Like honey bees, they communicate through pheromones.

But why is this concept of the superorganism so amazing? It challenges the way we view individualism in the natural world. Unlike solitary animals, where survival depends on the strength and ability of one individual, superorganisms thrive through collaboration. Every member is crucial, yet no single individual can function independently. This demonstrates the immense power of cooperation in nature, something humans could learn from as well.

Superorganisms highlight how evolution can create highly efficient and resilient systems through teamwork. They show that strength isn’t always about physical power but about unity and shared purpose. Observing bees, ants, and termites, we see how nature itself values community, and in doing so, creates some of the most extraordinary and complex societies on Earth.

Nature never ceases to amaze, and the superorganism is just one of its most brilliant masterpieces.

I don't suppose termites are an option? Something unusual I never see depicted about termites is that they have not only queens, but also kings! They're also unusual in that, unlike wasps, ants and bees (who strictly have female workers), there are also male workers!

If you're looking for more unusual eusocial insects, aphids and thrips are both options.

Like termites, eusocial thrips have both male and female workers. Unlike termites, the male "workers" can breed, however. (Female workers cannot; only special breeding females.) They also have soldiers with big mantis-like claws, which are used for crushing enemy thrips (as well as secreting antifungal compounds)! They all live together in galls (swellings they induce in host plants).

Some images of a species with different galls on different plants:

Some sources:

Eusocial aphids are unusual in that instead of having a single queen or just a few queens, the majority of the population is asexual females giving birth to clones. In some species, there are also (also female, though nonreproductive) soldiers. Some soldiers have turned the central tail spike into a stinger; others have wicked crablike forms like you can see on the right, compared to the more usual reproductive aphids on the left:

Some eusocial aphids live in galls, like the thrips. Others just live out in the open like usual aphids. Soldiers' duties range from keeping the gall clean (if they live in galls), to killing hoverfly maggots which prey on aphids.

At the end of the year, the aphids lay eggs that turn into winged males and females that breed, yielding the next year's asexual, wingless females again (both soldier and non-soldier).

Some sources:

I generally love all hymenopterans! I have mixed feelings about termites, but they are so complex and neat they have been growing on me.

Termites build the most amazing structures and also have their own domestic fungus. It's almost like the ants know this since they are always going after termites... it's a rivalry for the ages. Though since ants are omnivores and termites aren't it's more like the termites are persecuted.

Every time I see someone talking about ants (in a good way, not a "kill them" way) I add them to the community. It's growing slowly and I think it could be very neat!

Synalpheus Regalis or Sponge-Dwelling Snapping Shrimp!

On land, we are all familiar with the eusocial behaviors of bees, but did you know that there is one genus of marine creatures that exhibit these same behaviors?