this post was submitted on 02 Oct 2025
967 points (99.7% liked)

Science Memes

17561 readers
2033 users here now

Welcome to c/science_memes @ Mander.xyz!

A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.



Rules

  1. Don't throw mud. Behave like an intellectual and remember the human.
  2. Keep it rooted (on topic).
  3. No spam.
  4. Infographics welcome, get schooled.

This is a science community. We use the Dawkins definition of meme.



Research Committee

Other Mander Communities

Science and Research

Biology and Life Sciences

Physical Sciences

Humanities and Social Sciences

Practical and Applied Sciences

Memes

Miscellaneous

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 
top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] shifty@leminal.space 247 points 2 months ago (8 children)
  • Wasps not bees.
  • The wasps probably won't be able to emerge if the concrete dust sets.
  • Imagine being entombed by your parents. Born in an inescapable coffin.
[–] MajorMajormajormajor@lemmy.ca 131 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Born in an inescapable coffin.

Ah, so real life then.

[–] BigDanishGuy@sh.itjust.works 42 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Yes, it certainly bears semblance to my first 9 months in solitary confinement, before the hag dragged me out from her wretched womb. Curse you vile woman!

[–] Deceptichum@quokk.au 9 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

BigDanishGuy, I said no toys at the table.

[–] burntbacon@discuss.tchncs.de 12 points 2 months ago

This isn't a toy, it's a revolution! proudly waves the vibrator

[–] EditsHisComments@lemmy.world 41 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, never heard them called mud bees. Only ever heard them as dirt / mud daubers, and they're very obviously wasps.

They don't hurt as much as you'd think, but you'll still feel it for a day or two

[–] lightnsfw@reddthat.com 11 points 2 months ago (4 children)

My grandma used to tell me they don't sting so I wouldn't freak out when one was near me. Little kid me was a gullible fool.

[–] ZoopZeZoop@lemmy.world 16 points 2 months ago

They can sting, but they (anecdotally) sting less readily than some other species of wasps. I've been around them all my life and never have been stung. But, I've never intentionally messed with them. On the other hand, I've been stung by a couple other species that were far less patient with my presence in their general area.

[–] burntbacon@discuss.tchncs.de 11 points 2 months ago

mud daubers usually are as far from aggressive as yellow jackets are assholes.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] BanMe@lemmy.world 32 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Full of spiders.

I hate cleaning these up because they're fucking spider piñatas. Yeah the spiders are dead by then, but just, fucking eww.

So there are 2 on my porch that desperately need to be cleaned up, anyone?

[–] Fuck_u_spez_@sh.itjust.works 5 points 2 months ago (1 children)
[–] _stranger_@lemmy.world 7 points 2 months ago (2 children)

You still kinda have to smash them with a mallet.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] I_am_10_squirrels@beehaw.org 5 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Does it come with a cask of good wine?

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] Triumph@fedia.io 67 points 2 months ago (4 children)

Just wait until they build one on the back of a snail.

[–] zqwzzle@lemmy.ca 45 points 2 months ago

For the people less chronically online than apparently @Triumph@fedia.io and myself. https://lemmy.ca/post/52674587

[–] Hux@lemmy.ml 40 points 2 months ago

A bee-craft carrier?

My god…

[–] jol@discuss.tchncs.de 27 points 2 months ago (1 children)

That's a fun idea for a game. You're growing a bee colony that has evolved a symbiotic relationship with a species of snail. They feed and defend the snail, while they build the nest on the back.

[–] just2look@lemmy.zip 34 points 2 months ago (1 children)

You should check out the game Wandering Village. Its not bees and snails, but you do build a village on a giant beast that you can feed.

[–] webghost0101@sopuli.xyz 6 points 2 months ago

For a second i thought you mistitled Reus but fair enough its a different game and this concept a new genre.

[–] mr_satan@lemmy.zip 26 points 2 months ago (1 children)

That snail that will kill you on touch just got an upgrade.

[–] SomeAmateur@sh.itjust.works 14 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

That reminds me there's a game called Shadows of Doubt! You are a detective in a dystopian cyber noir world where corporations run everything.

Anyway they just added a mode to have the damned snail always after you while you're trying to take on jobs and solve crimes

[–] fossilesque@mander.xyz 5 points 2 months ago

I love this game. I highly recommend it.

[–] slaneesh_is_right@lemmy.org 52 points 2 months ago

That's so cool. A few more hives and you can do dangerous bouldering

[–] Underwaterbob@sh.itjust.works 33 points 2 months ago (1 children)

That's cool. Mud daubers are extremely chill and will only sting you as an absolutely last resort. They also are great at keeping the spider population down. Which I'm a little torn on because I love spiders since they eat mosquitoes, and mosquitoes can fuck off and die afaic.

[–] Wilco@lemmy.zip 9 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Wait until you find thier storage area. It will be a rock that you overturn, or maybe a space between two boards filled with paralyzed spiders and other insects ... Google it if you dare.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] RedSnt@feddit.dk 26 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Poor bees. That's got to be hurting them, right? Isn't concrete caustic?

[–] marcos@lemmy.world 32 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I imagine if it hurt, they would pick some other material.

They mix it with some material they produce, so it won't behave like pure cement. Also, after you mix it, concrete isn't caustic.

[–] RedSnt@feddit.dk 5 points 2 months ago

Good point.

[–] I_am_10_squirrels@beehaw.org 7 points 2 months ago

Very, cement has a pH of around 11

[–] hOrni@lemmy.world 26 points 2 months ago (1 children)

How long do we have till they discover reinforced concrete.

[–] InternetCitizen2@lemmy.world 23 points 2 months ago (4 children)

7years. Nuclear weapons by 11years.

[–] panda_abyss@lemmy.ca 17 points 2 months ago (2 children)

That’s a bit slow for a Factorio run, but impressive nonetheless.

[–] Quetzalcutlass@lemmy.world 8 points 2 months ago

Especially since they started with drones unlocked!

[–] Opisek@piefed.blahaj.zone 5 points 2 months ago

Hey, I love getting sidetracked!

[–] ininewcrow@lemmy.ca 5 points 2 months ago

Bee AI powered drones in 14 years

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] Routhinator@startrek.website 20 points 2 months ago

The bees that live there:

[–] Know_not_Scotty_does@lemmy.world 15 points 2 months ago
[–] Psaldorn@lemmy.world 13 points 2 months ago

Typical mud wasps, a decade late to the crocs craze.

[–] BilSabab@lemmy.world 8 points 2 months ago

that's some hardcore Resident Evil shit.

[–] BierSoggyBeard@feddit.online 8 points 2 months ago

Those are wasps, buddy, and it's going to get worse.

[–] iAvicenna@lemmy.world 7 points 2 months ago

if you get too close, they will poke you with tiny bee spears too

[–] vodam@lemmy.zip 5 points 2 months ago

another bee W

[–] panda_abyss@lemmy.ca 4 points 2 months ago

That’s awesome

[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Struggling with believing this due to the nature of wet concrete. Maybe there's not enough water in their saliva to trigger the reactions?

[–] TheseusNow@lemmy.zip 6 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

I call BS. All their nest here look like this because we have grey clay soil. I've actually never seen a brown nest. Doesn't help their credibility that they call them mud bees. They are the red wasps and I've known them as mud daubers.

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 3 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Not knowing the name of a bug is barely evidence of anything, but otherwise I agree. I've never seen any kind of wasp nest or even dried mud period that was actually brown and not a whitish, ashy, tan to gray.

I wanna see video of the nest attempting to be crushed to prove it's concrete. Actually scratch that. It doesn't even look like it was made by an insect; it could be concrete but was made by human hands for the bit. The holes are too perfect.

load more comments
view more: next ›