TWG 204 - Forest Feast GAME THREAD

[ShadoWolfe]

Originally Posted by Wayward Vagabond

What has 4 legs and turns brown in the summer and 2 legs and turns green in the winter?

uh...

ME?

I have 2 legs and get sick in the winter, then summer comes and my legs get yoked double their size so they count as 4, and I tan super brown so BAM

[ShadoWolfe]

ohhh I'm a dumbass.
you were stumping me with a riddle
and you did, so fair point good job you stumped me

now stump me again biiiiiitch

[ShadoWolfe]

Originally Posted by mellon_collie

Are termites considered bugs? I always think of "bugs" as the kinda cute ones, and the ugly/mean ones remain insects to me and do not get the nickname of bug. Is this discrimination??

Yes, termites are bugs. Termites are a group of detritophagous eusocial insects comprising the infraorder Isoptera of the order Blattodea of the superorder Dictyoptera of the cohort Polyneoptera under the larger class Insecta from the phylum Arthropoda of the Animal kingdom. In common parlance, terrestrial arthropods are often called bugs.

Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blattodea (along with cockroaches). Termites were once classified in a separate order from cockroaches, but recent phylogenetic studies indicate that they evolved from cockroaches, as they are deeply nested within the group, and the sister group to wood eating cockroaches of the genus Cryptocercus.

Super cool tidbit: similar to ants and some bees and wasps from the separate order Hymenoptera, most termites have an analogous 'worker' and 'soldier' caste system consisting of mostly sterile individuals which are morphologically and behaviorally distinct. Unlike ants, most colonies begin from reproductively mature individuals called "kings" and "queens" which form monogamous pairs. Also unlike ants, which undergo a complete metamorphosis, termites undergo through an incomplete metamorphosis that proceeds through egg, nymph, and adult stages. Termite colonies are commonly described as superorganisms due to the collective behaviors of the individuals which form a self-governing entity: the colony itself. Their colonies range in size from a few hundred individuals to enormous societies with several million individuals. Most species are rarely conspicuous, with the majority having a cryptic life-history where they remain concealed within the galleries and tunnels of their nests for their entire lives.


ALSO, MOST WORKER AND SOLDIER TERMITES ARE COMPLETELY BLIND AS THEY DO NOT HAVE A PAIR OF EYES.

[ShadoWolfe]

ok that last post should've gotten me enough bugkid brownie points to escape modkill this phase

btw roundbox that's a super cool picture of a termite colony. bet you didn't know it counts as a SUPERORGANISM

since it seems like I'm alone here, I WILL SEE YOU ALL TOMORROW

[ShadoWolfe]

btw if I'm wrong about anything scientific it's cause I'm plagiarizing shit I know nothing about and spreading misinformation like it's 2020

heyooo

[ShadoWolfe]

Originally Posted by flashflash account

Apparently people use the term bug informally to refer to basically any arthropod, which is news to me

Hemiptera is the order known as "true bugs" though, which I don't think termites are a part of

So yes and no, hope that clears things up

damn man why you gotta add nuance

[DaBackpack]

Originally Posted by ShadoWolfe

ALSO, MOST WORKER AND SOLDIER TERMITES ARE COMPLETELY BLIND AS THEY DO NOT HAVE A PAIR OF EYES.

"most"??? o.O

[flashflash account]

Originally Posted by ShadoWolfe

damn man why you gotta add nuance

What, I like bugs

[ShadoWolfe]

Originally Posted by flashflash account

What, I like bugs

just true bugs or all bugs?

[ShadoWolfe]

Originally Posted by DaBackpack

"most"??? o.O

weird, huh? per wikipedia it's most
but per TERMINIX, the nefarious corporation that specializes in the mass murder of poor, innocent bugs (but in this case it's where our hero, the awesome exterminator works), it's ALL worker termites that are born without eyes.

Terminix, being the surprisingly informative hub of bug information that they are, say:

"The strength of their vision varies depending on their role in the colony. The king and queen termites (also known as royal termites) are some of the only members of the colony with completely functional eyesight. These termites depend on their vision to break away from their colonies and start new ones. Swarmer termites (also known as reproductives) also have eyesight. That said, they only develop it after complete maturation. During this process, reproductive nymphs double in size, turn black in color and develop internal organs, wings and vision. Swarmers may also become king or queen termites if they mate and start a new colony. Thus, they, too, require vision.

On the other hand, worker termites never develop eyesight or wings. Worker termites can distinguish light from dark but cannot see shapes or color in their surroundings. As the primary providers for the colony, they detect food through their antennae and olfactory senses instead."

"If not all termites have eyes, then how do termites see and perceive the world around them? Even royal and swarming termites that can see rely heavily on their other senses. Researchers from the University of California at Davis (heyyy, I have 4 siblings that went there) found that all insects sense their surroundings through small molecules that provide information on nest-mates, food sources and predators. These molecules, also known as odorant-binding proteins, help transport smells from the environment to the insect’s sensory nerves. With termites, these molecules may pass through their olfactory system or through the two antennas on their head.

Termite antennae are impressive enough on their own. They contain moisture-sensing receptors that help them locate moisture and decaying wood nearby. Even a termite’s legs can act as both a sensory and communication tool. They have setea, which are tiny hairs, attached to their legs that are highly sensitive to vibrations. Through these vibrations, termites can determine the size and usefulness of a food source. For example, dampwood termites can detect moisture-filled wood. Meanwhile, drywood termites can identify wood from furniture, floors and framing. They also use vibrations to communicate to other termites in their colony. For example, soldier termites can alarm other termites of an intrusion by forcefully knocking their head against the walls of the mud tube or nest. All these vibratory senses live within their tibia portion of their legs."




aaaand the next section is called, "how can you remove termites" but instead of saying "vote them out" it just says to contact terminix to send an exterminator. poo poo on them, we already have one

[Wayward Vagabond]

Originally Posted by DaBackpack

"most"??? o.O

Yeah because Wolfe has eyes!!!

[Wayward Vagabond]

shadowolfe we gottem bois

[flashflash account]

Originally Posted by ShadoWolfe

just true bugs or all bugs?

Uh, most bugs
My favorite order is probably lepidoptera though...

Although hemiptera is aight

[Tps222]

Just realized with this delayed wolf kill mechanic that we likely won’t get any actionable information from the first night, since it’s likely a single target gets unknowingly swarmed and not devoured until later on.

Seems a little risky for termites to wait until a single devour action would win then the game considering they’ve no way of knowing if their swarm works. Even so, if our day voting is not productive, having more votes around is probably good for chaos.

With that in mind it seems the exterminator is likely incentivized to not come out because there are no other hidden blue rules for that person to be the representative of.

[Tps222]

Additionally it seems the only actionable information we’re going to get is day vote-based card flips. This seems like it’s going to be difficult for any type of coordinated action to take down the termites; I’m struggling to conceive of how the termites get caught other than blind luck. Anyone else have any ideas on how they see this going down? Even the exterminator isn’t going to know if what they’re doing is successful, so our information drip is super limited and really only benefits the termites devour-timing countdown plans. It seems that catching people defending cardflip-verified termites is going to be one of our only tools, but even then that’s not ideal.

[Tps222]

Just realized there’s only 2 termites so I suppose that helps the odds on random votes working out and lessens the impact of defense-analysis, as the termites are probably going to distance themselves from one another.

We may need to consider grouping people in pods of 2 when voting to see how each couplet reacts publicly vs their cardflip. Would seem to accelerate the analysis process imo.

[flashflash account]

Since I'm bored and washed up I'll accept the dumbtell

[flashflash account]

1 down 8 to go

[flashflash account]

Actually 7

[Hateandhatred]

So um...

Can someone explain to me the disadvantage of the exterminator to reveal himself right away? His role basically prevents someone from getting swarmed, and he's the only person we can know for sure is forest aligned. If he just protects himself everynight, then the net result is one less target for day lynch, right?