Boy? Or Girl?
Several months hence, one Myrmecos point will be awarded to each person who guesses whether our little first instar is XX or XY.
Thursday Night Mystery: An Early Instar
Alex Wild on insects, science, and photography
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A personal blog by Illinois-based biologist and photographer Alex Wild.
Myrmecos- derived from the ancient greek word for "ant"- hosts Alex's musings about these and other little creatures that share our planet.
Questions? Email alwild [at] myrmecos.net; or follow @Myrmecos on Twitter.
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Bits and Pieces
I’ll guess XX. Congrats!
Congrats! I’ll go for XY.
Congratulations! XX.
My guess is that it’s a diploid, so a cute girl.
My big congrats for you!!
http://snltranscripts.jt.org/75/75abee.phtml
I’m thinking that the budding antomologist is an XY! Congratulations to Jo and you! What a wonderful gift!
My guess is XY. Congratulations to the both (and soon to be three) of you!
Congrats, that is great!
I would bet money on XY. I can explain why in greater detail another time but its got to do with sex ratios and women’s roller derby;)
XX! Congratulatins!
XX
Congrats! And let me be the first to congratulate the tike on choice of parents. Though perhaps she or he is destined to be the first kid in history to have a father complain that it is far too large as an infant for good photos.
XY
My guess if XY! Congrats on your first worker for the colony!
XX! Congratulations!
Congratulations!!!!!!! My guess:XX
(well, a guess biased by my wish anyways)
a swan?
Congratulations to the entire Myrmecos colony! Whatever parenting strategy you adopt down the road, just make sure it’s not modeled after Adetomyrma!
Oh, and assuming Alex was involved in the conception, I’m gonna guess XY!
Great photo. Really interesting lighting on this shot.
congrats!
Congratulations Alex! My guess XY =)
Congrats! Rarely the subject is placed in the middle. XY, or if for an ant, XO?
The mystery might be easier solved with a stacked photo.
They can do that now! 3-d ultrasounds are pretty much focus stacking for ultrasound. We saw a couple on our 3rd kid as routine imagery (as well as fetal MRI, but that wasn’t so routine). The artifacts are a bit high so don’t freak out a weird protrusions where the don’t belong!
Oh wow! There’s a Myrmecos, a Mrs. Myrmecos, and now a baby Myrmecos! Awesome!
Best wishes for an easy pregnancy!
Given the lineage you should be happy with diploid! But I’ll guess an adorable XX that wants to be a ballerina since that’s just the way these things work
. Congrats and best of luck!
XY !
Congratulations, Alex.
Gheez! Even ultrasound photos of Alex Wild’s offspring are well focused, beautiful and fit the 2/3rds rule. Congratulations Alex!
I will not guess; I am pretty sure it will make you very happy either way. I hope, however, that it is will become a dipterist and that I can be her/his supervisor for the PhD some day!
Congratulations! I imagine you will be pleased with either xx or xy.
Yay! Congratulations to you and Jo! My guess is it will be adorable.
Congratulations to you and Jo! This is a boy (XY) all the way!
Rob
Congrats! My guess is XX.
Congratulations to you!!! My guess is XY.
What’s the increase in breast size in the mother? It’s the best correlate of progeny sex…
Oh, and congrats too! (too quick to press: )
What, no points for identifying genus and species? Darn. Not being an entomologist, yet a regular visitor to your blog and admirer of your work, there I was hoping that for once I could confidently answer one of your weekly mystery challenges and earn some points!
Congrats! My guess is XY. And as a father of a toddler (and of one more on the way), I can only say good luck keeping those small, sweet, inquisitive, active, and very very fast hands off your expensive photographic equipment in a few years’ time…