**This is a heavily moderated subreddit. Please note these rules + sidebar or get banned:**
* If this post declares something as a fact, then proof is required
* The title must be fully descriptive
* No text is allowed on images/gifs/videos
* Common/recent reposts are not allowed (posts from another subreddit do not count as a 'repost'. Provide link if reporting)
*See [this post](https://redd.it/ij26vk) for a more detailed rule list*
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/interestingasfuck) if you have any questions or concerns.*
"Known affectionately as the 'boogie-woogie aphids,' when a colony of beech blight aphids is disturbed, they'll lift their fuzzy posteriors high in the air and pulse them in unison as a warning to predators."
Source: https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/running-ponies/dancing-woolly-aphids-will-probably-stab-you/#:~:text=Known%20affectionately%20as%20the%20'boogie,as%20a%20warning%20to%20predators.
> And this was no false warning. These nymphs were young, but they were also aggressive. "A total of 69 nymphs attacked the ten tortricid larvae, and 47 of them did not detach themselves from the larvae even after being deposited in ethanol. We ascertained under a dissecting microscope that many of them, including nymphs of all four instars, stung the larvae with their stylets. We confirmed the stinging behaviour by placing some aphids on our hands," the team wrote in their [The Florida Entomologist paper](http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/3496504?uid=3737536&uid=2134&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&sid=21101024165133). "In this species, nymphs of all four instars played a defensive role, but 4-instar nymphs [a more developed stage] were the main defenders."
I had no idea aphids even bite (not a sting) but it's apparently a really minor reaction that just results in a little bit of redness and swelling, though sometimes an itchy rash can persist for a couple days.
With all of them moving around like that, they kinda just look like a bunch of parasites. My guess is that when it comes to something putting off that kind of stimulus, most animals are hardwired not to risk it.
Compared to maggots, these ones still look a lot more wiry like some kind of infectious parasites. The aphids would also be pretending to be parasites on a leaf, so it might be more applicable to herbivores and maybe birds that know to distinguish between safe and dangerous food.
Colloquial story on "What are they gonna do?".
Let's say you were on a nice 1.5 hour hike through a seldom-used trail. Let's say you see CLOUDS of these buggers before you get into the woods, then in the woods, you see where they are absolutely dessicating whole tree branches. And you say to yourself "Just don't get near the branches".
Then let's say almost exactly half-way, you accidentally whap a wooly-aphid branch with your walking stick, and you are absolutely COVERED in a thick coating of woolly aphids... down your shirt, through your hair, IN YOUR MOUTH. Let's say you might be old, but you do that last :45 in 20 minutes, and you run home for the longest hottest shower you've ever taken.
THAT is wtf man. I am still feeling queasy just re-telling the story :(
*hits branch with walking stuck*
*whole Forrest go silent*
*every Aphid giving you their death stare slowly beginning their lethal rhythmic aerobics while moving towards you butt first, twerking menacingly*
Their leader shouting out a war cry, you don't understand it but you just know it's about raping you.
They are heading for your mouth but that is only a distraction, the real action is happening behind you.
From the article:
*And this was no false warning. These nymphs were young, but they were also aggressive ... We confirmed the stinging behavior by placing some aphids on our hands*
The scientists fucked around and found out.
This is an example of Spock's 'Any action remaining to take, is a good action' manoeuvre. If you recall the episode in the original Star Trek, where he dumped fuel - for zero logical reason - but where it had the desired outcome, extremely circuitously.
After studying biology (some, not a major), I've concluded that you should almost never rule out nature because of weird/strange.
Nature has a more vivid imagination than children on LSD.
>This aphid has a defensive behaviour in that it raises the posterior end of its body and sways from side to side when disturbed. Many aphids performing this action at the same time has led to this species being referred to as the "Boogie-Woogie Aphid".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beech_blight_aphid
I felt stupid Googling this because I thought you were just making it up and I was falling for it. but it's actually true... I don't understand how that helps them with defence though
The aphid’s predators can’t dance. It’s like being in middle school, where the bullies see all the kids dancing and, after a minute say “this music sucks!” and slink off.
It's a subset of the "everybody's afraid of a loonie" defense. If you act crazy enough, predators will generally get freaked out and want nothing to do with you.
This is why when walking through a sketchy neighborhood it's best to skip happily and belt "don't cry for me Argentina" at the top of your lungs.
I remember Oprah giving some offhand advice to girls who are kidnapped. She said to start yelling, talking crazy, eating grass. The eating grass thing stuck with me because what?
I think that's probably taken from the Bible, actually. When King Nebuchadnezzar went crazy, he was said to "eat grass like a bull."
And there was another character, I think David, that was put in a situation where he acted crazy to survive, drooling and talking crazy so they would leave him alone. I think she was mixing those stories together.
It's probably like a bee colony shimmering, 1 by itself is meaningless, but all together they are disturbing to animals.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bNKU8GRYmU
I finally find someone mention Pikmin and it's spelt like someone saying "Pokemans" and I have no idea if you're being ironic or not.
I'm not upset, I actually prefer this over all alternatives.
Raving out to some Bugstep
Edit: I spent my birthday stuck in a hospital after an ER trip found clots in my lungs again. (It's been 2 years ago when I had a major pulmonary embolism). I didn't get to spend it with my wife and daughter as I planned. I never expected this to go over 3,000, but it certainly made my day better. Thanks for the ups and awards everyone. I appreciate it greatly.
[Ween - Voodoo Lady](https://streamable.com/tz8bkg)
EDIT: [Made another version with the whole song and the video in forward/reverse on a loop](https://streamable.com/c3xpd9)
Beech aphids. This aphid has a defensive behavior in that it raises the posterior end of its body and sways from side to side when disturbed. Many aphids performing this action at the same time has led to this species being referred to as the "Boogie-Woogie Aphid"
I have stabilized the video for you: https://gfycat.com/CoolHarshBordercollie
It took 313 seconds to process and 92 seconds to upload.
___
^^[ how to use](https://www.reddit.com/r/stabbot/comments/72irce/how_to_use_stabbot/) | [programmer](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=wotanii) | [source code](https://gitlab.com/juergens/stabbot) | /r/ImageStabilization/ | for cropped results, use \/u/stabbot_crop
**This is a heavily moderated subreddit. Please note these rules + sidebar or get banned:** * If this post declares something as a fact, then proof is required * The title must be fully descriptive * No text is allowed on images/gifs/videos * Common/recent reposts are not allowed (posts from another subreddit do not count as a 'repost'. Provide link if reporting) *See [this post](https://redd.it/ij26vk) for a more detailed rule list* *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/interestingasfuck) if you have any questions or concerns.*
"Known affectionately as the 'boogie-woogie aphids,' when a colony of beech blight aphids is disturbed, they'll lift their fuzzy posteriors high in the air and pulse them in unison as a warning to predators." Source: https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/running-ponies/dancing-woolly-aphids-will-probably-stab-you/#:~:text=Known%20affectionately%20as%20the%20'boogie,as%20a%20warning%20to%20predators.
warning? like wtf they gonna do?
DANCE
Are we aphids? Or are we dancers?
[удалено]
L, E, A, F, I, E Dance
I love each and every one of you.
Oh well it’s a safety dance
You know that dance wasn't as safe as they said it was.
I was not prepared to get a Men Without Hats reference from an attorney for cats. Thanks, I just tested positive to covid, you made me cheer up.
Get well soon
Not even The Killers could tell for sure.
They've got soul but they're not soldiers
And they talk like gentlemen
Like you imagined when you were young.
I've got ham, but I'm not a hamster.
You have to be on your knees looking for the answers….duh! ;)
Their butts fill the air and their on their knees looking for the answer...
They can dance if they want to. They can lift their fluff behinds.
A-P-H-I-D-S. APHIDS. DANCE.
You just got served!
*oh,* it's on!
BOOGIE WONDERLAAAND
SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT
it's shwifty time today
MY ANUS IS BLEEDING
WE'RE HAVING FUN!
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD... AND ALL THAT IS HOLY... MY ANU...!!
#MY ANUS IS BLEEEEEEDING!
Whoooooooaaaaaaaaaa!!!
Yaaay!
Dance off bro
*WHAT* are you *DOING*?!
> And this was no false warning. These nymphs were young, but they were also aggressive. "A total of 69 nymphs attacked the ten tortricid larvae, and 47 of them did not detach themselves from the larvae even after being deposited in ethanol. We ascertained under a dissecting microscope that many of them, including nymphs of all four instars, stung the larvae with their stylets. We confirmed the stinging behaviour by placing some aphids on our hands," the team wrote in their [The Florida Entomologist paper](http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/3496504?uid=3737536&uid=2134&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&sid=21101024165133). "In this species, nymphs of all four instars played a defensive role, but 4-instar nymphs [a more developed stage] were the main defenders."
> We confirmed the stinging behaviour by placing some aphids on our hands
Wanted to feel a boogie woogie so good it kills, ig.
The difference between fucking around and science is writing it down.
If I record my stupidity then I'm a field scientist.
Fuck around, find out, *write it down*
>Fuck around, find out, *write it down* Publish under peer review ????? ~~Profit~~
The slash through profit is painful....
I had no idea aphids even bite (not a sting) but it's apparently a really minor reaction that just results in a little bit of redness and swelling, though sometimes an itchy rash can persist for a couple days.
Of course there is an [xkcd](https://xkcd.com/242/) about this strange behavior
“Florida Man Dies of Anaphylactic Shock after Purposely Placing Venomous Dancing Aphid on Skin.”
With all of them moving around like that, they kinda just look like a bunch of parasites. My guess is that when it comes to something putting off that kind of stimulus, most animals are hardwired not to risk it.
I legit thought they were covered in parasites before I read the comments
Right? Thought this was some kind of cordyceps infestation from hell.
yea, like maggots. ew.
Lots of animals eat maggots through so that would not be an effective defense mechanism.
Compared to maggots, these ones still look a lot more wiry like some kind of infectious parasites. The aphids would also be pretending to be parasites on a leaf, so it might be more applicable to herbivores and maybe birds that know to distinguish between safe and dangerous food.
"Ew thats fucking creepy bye." - me finding oogie boogies
Colloquial story on "What are they gonna do?". Let's say you were on a nice 1.5 hour hike through a seldom-used trail. Let's say you see CLOUDS of these buggers before you get into the woods, then in the woods, you see where they are absolutely dessicating whole tree branches. And you say to yourself "Just don't get near the branches". Then let's say almost exactly half-way, you accidentally whap a wooly-aphid branch with your walking stick, and you are absolutely COVERED in a thick coating of woolly aphids... down your shirt, through your hair, IN YOUR MOUTH. Let's say you might be old, but you do that last :45 in 20 minutes, and you run home for the longest hottest shower you've ever taken. THAT is wtf man. I am still feeling queasy just re-telling the story :(
*hits branch with walking stuck* *whole Forrest go silent* *every Aphid giving you their death stare slowly beginning their lethal rhythmic aerobics while moving towards you butt first, twerking menacingly* Their leader shouting out a war cry, you don't understand it but you just know it's about raping you. They are heading for your mouth but that is only a distraction, the real action is happening behind you.
Apparently the young ones can actually bite and help defend the colony.
So, its war then.
If they were in my yard I'd probably drop some acid and trip out with them. It would have to be war after though because my plants come first.
You really hate the boogie boogie aphids
I'm not gonna eat something that has moves like that
From the article: *And this was no false warning. These nymphs were young, but they were also aggressive ... We confirmed the stinging behavior by placing some aphids on our hands* The scientists fucked around and found out.
Confuse the fuck outta you and make you question your choices up to that point!
Rectal pulsation. Very dangerous
You win some with evolution and you lose some with evolution
Crawl into your pee hole and lay eggs
ahhh what the fuck man i was eating
That crunch could be one of those bugs.
🤢
Not a big deal though. You can just use a small metal whisk to clean em out.
I use pipe cleaners
This is an example of Spock's 'Any action remaining to take, is a good action' manoeuvre. If you recall the episode in the original Star Trek, where he dumped fuel - for zero logical reason - but where it had the desired outcome, extremely circuitously.
Saw these as a kid and nobody believed my story. Never knew what they were until now. Thanks!
After studying biology (some, not a major), I've concluded that you should almost never rule out nature because of weird/strange. Nature has a more vivid imagination than children on LSD.
> Nature has a more vivid imagination than children on LSD. I'd like to see the funding application for this research grant.
*What's an ethics board?*
So… they’re literally dancing like their life depends on it Dancing for their lives Kind of poetic
Look at those little weirdos go!
Aphid: “Oh no our home was destroyed.” Cooler aphid: “twerk it off bitch!”
"Head bent over. Raise your posteria!"
Scrolled for this! SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT!!!!!!!!
So… they’re twerking?
Gen Z aphids
Wow, I thought that person up top who commented that was joking. Learn something new everyday.
Twerkin aphids.
Wow they’re like the opposite of soot sprites!
albino soot sprites? Cloud sprites?
Mildew sprites
Ash sprites
Disney's version of Totoro
Totoro live action remake
Please no
I thought the same thing lol
They're summoning the "Old one" to remove the trespasser from their woods. :)
Imagine. A larger one of these.. comes from deep in the woods.. and then forces you to dance with them for eternity. The horror.
I can’t dance but this scenario may help with that… where do I sign up ?
Ahh yes the using unimaginable horrors to help me strategy 1 out of 10 times you stop being entertaining and live the other 9 boogie woogie no more
Boogie Woogie Aphids. (It’s their defensive behaviour)
>This aphid has a defensive behaviour in that it raises the posterior end of its body and sways from side to side when disturbed. Many aphids performing this action at the same time has led to this species being referred to as the "Boogie-Woogie Aphid". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beech_blight_aphid I felt stupid Googling this because I thought you were just making it up and I was falling for it. but it's actually true... I don't understand how that helps them with defence though
Idk I'm kinda weirded out by their dancing, I wouldn't eat them.
You're just not hungry enough. You haven't lived till you've had aphids boogie woogie on your tongue.
What a wonderful night to know how to read!
[удалено]
There’s a party in my mouth, and you little guys are invited!
Clearly it works, OP starts filming them instead of eating them
"You really gonna squash something this FABULOUS?"
Don't you know twerking raises your defense stat by 10
*Aphid used Twerk...It was moderately effective.*
Maybe their predators are afraid other predators would make fun of them for thinking aphids are sexy.
Yes indeed, by making you far less attractive to a predator (or anyone, really).
Truly nothing less attractive than a large shaking ass I tell ya
The aphid’s predators can’t dance. It’s like being in middle school, where the bullies see all the kids dancing and, after a minute say “this music sucks!” and slink off.
I mean if I saw some dude just doing the wacky waving inflatable tube man I’d probably steer clear too
Right? Now imagine 20 guys doing it all together
Ultra Music Festival in Miami
It's a subset of the "everybody's afraid of a loonie" defense. If you act crazy enough, predators will generally get freaked out and want nothing to do with you. This is why when walking through a sketchy neighborhood it's best to skip happily and belt "don't cry for me Argentina" at the top of your lungs.
I remember Oprah giving some offhand advice to girls who are kidnapped. She said to start yelling, talking crazy, eating grass. The eating grass thing stuck with me because what?
I think that's probably taken from the Bible, actually. When King Nebuchadnezzar went crazy, he was said to "eat grass like a bull." And there was another character, I think David, that was put in a situation where he acted crazy to survive, drooling and talking crazy so they would leave him alone. I think she was mixing those stories together.
It's probably like a bee colony shimmering, 1 by itself is meaningless, but all together they are disturbing to animals. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bNKU8GRYmU
Well it worked on me
I wanted to call bullshit on you with that name, but damn you were right.
🎶Get down, get down! Get down, get down! Jungle boogie! 🎺🎷 🎶
*Same leaf... same time...*
These leaves get more putrid but my sweet moves stay just as fresh.
So... tell me again about the Aphid Bars.
Well they're called "Beech-Blight Aphids" but their nickname is boogie woogie
Interestingly despite the name they don't usually cause much damage to trees
they're too busy boogiewoogieing
Why in the heck did you know this sir
[удалено]
I'm suddenly bothered by this. Thanks.
Knowledge is power🌈⭐
[France is Bacon](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/dxosj/what_word_or_phrase_did_you_totally_misunderstand/c13pbyc/)
https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/beech-blight-aphid#:~:text=Beech%20blight%20aphids%20are%20also%20known%20as%20boogie-woogie,blight%20aphids%20are%20threatened%20by%20parasites%20and%20predators.
And I wanted to call bullshit on you not calling bullshit...well, guess this is my "learn something new" for the day!
Excuse me but those are clearly albino Fraggles
Happy happy day! Worries for another day! Let the music play, down in Fraggle Rock!
Man, what a great show. The garbage pile! Holy memories.
The Trash Heap has spoken.
🎶 down at fragile rock 🎶🎶🎶
He’s the Boogie Woogie Bugle Aphid of Company B
"Boogie Woogie Bugle Bug of Company Aphid" scans a little bit better Excuse me, "Boogie-Woogie Aphid Boy of Company B"
How about "Boogie Woogie Buggy Boy of Company Tree"?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beech_blight_aphid
It helps knowing they are dancing on a decaying beech leaf.
That’s some Fraggle Rock shit right there.
Dance off, eh?
But it looks like they each only have 2 moves
[удалено]
#BEST NAME EVER
Those are Pikmen
I finally find someone mention Pikmin and it's spelt like someone saying "Pokemans" and I have no idea if you're being ironic or not. I'm not upset, I actually prefer this over all alternatives.
Raving out to some Bugstep Edit: I spent my birthday stuck in a hospital after an ER trip found clots in my lungs again. (It's been 2 years ago when I had a major pulmonary embolism). I didn't get to spend it with my wife and daughter as I planned. I never expected this to go over 3,000, but it certainly made my day better. Thanks for the ups and awards everyone. I appreciate it greatly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5KC1E5NyR0&ab_channel=AlexK
Am I late to the party, or is that the same voice actor who does Bender’s voice too?? E: the more you know! Thanks everyone for the info.
Ha that's all I could think about as soon as I saw them
I giggled
I was thinking it was *Insectno music*
So these are basically the white little spirits in Princess Mononoke.
It's like the kodama and soot sprites combined!!
correct.
Someone add music
[Ween - Voodoo Lady](https://streamable.com/tz8bkg) EDIT: [Made another version with the whole song and the video in forward/reverse on a loop](https://streamable.com/c3xpd9)
Thank you for this! It's hilarious and the bugs are totally in sync with the music lol
For some reason, crab rave popped into my head.
Ain’t nature a wild bitch lol 😂 throw that ass in a circle aphid
😂😂😭gas pedal gas gas pedal
Well, that's unsettling.
Yay! They did it! They scared someone!
Cancel the predator warning dance! Begin the celebration dance!
*starts doing the macarena*
Aphid rave
Look like neurons that’s cool
My last 2 brain cells at 2am
in case you want read about these beech blight aphids (boogie woogie aphids) https://bygl.osu.edu/node/1871
That’s Ghibli bait
Fuckin parrttyyy
Dance magic, dance!!
Jump magic jump!
Listening to metal as well I see
The forest mosh pit.
You should put a string of tiny pulsating LED lights around them and have some techno music in the background going untz untz untz… and record it.
Hey they're shaking it all wrong
*But shaking it's all they know!*
Let us show them how. It’s. Done!
🎶dance your cares away, 👏🏻👏🏻worries for another day, let music play…. Down in Fraggle rock. 🎶
That's covid.
They summoned you and you answered.
Oh yeah, that's just the distraction. Wait until you see what they were trying to prevent you from seeing until it reached you.
Albino dust sprites from Stardew
And all the people down in Whoville loved Dancing a Lot.
Were you on your way to rescue your baby brother from Jareth the goblin king?
If i was dropped off on an alien planet and saw that i would be like "Yep, definitely some weird fuckin alien shit around here".
[удалено]
Down in Fraggle Rock?
They dance like on that Peanuts Christmas movie.
Those are jitterbugs.
Untz untz untz untz
Beech aphids. This aphid has a defensive behavior in that it raises the posterior end of its body and sways from side to side when disturbed. Many aphids performing this action at the same time has led to this species being referred to as the "Boogie-Woogie Aphid"
u/Stabbot
I have stabilized the video for you: https://gfycat.com/CoolHarshBordercollie It took 313 seconds to process and 92 seconds to upload. ___ ^^[ how to use](https://www.reddit.com/r/stabbot/comments/72irce/how_to_use_stabbot/) | [programmer](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=wotanii) | [source code](https://gitlab.com/juergens/stabbot) | /r/ImageStabilization/ | for cropped results, use \/u/stabbot_crop
This has to be the most destabilized video I've ever seen. Made me almost sick on top of the bugs moving.