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Banded sugar ant worker with cocoon

Thebanded sugar ant (Camponotus consobrinus) is a species of ant endemic to Australia. A member of the genusCamponotus in the subfamilyFormicinae, it wasdescribed by German entomologistWilhelm Ferdinand Erichson in 1842. Its common name refers to the ant's preference for sweet food and the distinctive orange-brown band around itsgaster. The ant ispolymorphic and relatively large, with castes called major workers (soldiers) and minor workers. Ants in these groups measure around 5 to 15 millimetres (0.20 to 0.59 inches) in length. Mainly nocturnal, the ants prefer amesic habitat, and are commonly found in forests and woodlands; they are also found in urban areas, where they are considered a household pest. The ant's diet includessweet secretions obtained from aphids and other insects. Workers prey on some insects, killing them with a spray offormic acid. Banded sugar ants are prey for other ants, echidnas and birds. The eggs of this species were consumed byIndigenous Australians. (Full article...)

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USS Gyatt, with her new missile system aft

... thatUSS Gyatt(pictured), after being fitted with aTerrier anti-air missile launcher, became the world's firstguided-missile destroyer?
... thatVTuberSakura Miko was featured in a paper onstructural stability andthermodynamics?
... that"Grim Reaper of Love" bythe Turtles features an unusualquintuple-meter (⁵
₄) beat?
... that269 Justitia is one of the reddest known asteroids in theasteroid belt?
... thatthe first Indian-American mayor ofFremont, California, succeededits first female and first Asian-American mayor?
... thatOris Aigbokhaevbolo was included onYNaija's 2024 list of influential people in the Nigerian film industry?
... that the 1992 edition ofBeringia, with a distance of 2,044 kilometres (1,270 mi), holds the Guinness World Record for the longest sled dog race?
... thatDallas Mavericks fans held a mock funeral with a coffin forLuka Dončić in response tohim being traded?

In the news

Walter Clayton Jr.

A nightclub roof collapse inSanto Domingo, Dominican Republic, kills more than 220 people.
Inbasketball, theFlorida Gatorswin the NCAA Division I men's championship(Most Outstanding PlayerWalter Clayton Jr. pictured) and theUConn Huskieswin the women's championship.
In theNational Hockey League,Alexander Ovechkin breaksWayne Gretzky's record formost goals scored.
Inhorse racing,Nick Rockett, ridden byPatrick Mullins, winsthe Grand National.
South Korea'sConstitutional CourtremovesYoon Suk Yeol as thepresident of South Korea, followinghis earlier declaration of martial law.

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On this day

April 11

Mary II and William III

1689 –William III andMary II(both pictured) were crowned joint sovereigns of England in a ceremony atWestminster Abbey.
1809 –Napoleonic Wars: A hastily assembledRoyal Navy fleet launchedan assault against the main strength of the French Atlantic Fleet; an incomplete victory led to political turmoil in Britain.
1951 – U.S. presidentHarry S. Trumanrelieved General of the ArmyDouglas MacArthur of his commands for making public statements about theKorean War that contradicted the administration's policies.
2001 – Ina FIFA World Cup qualifying match,Australia defeated American Samoa31–0, the largest margin of victory recorded in internationalfootball.

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Pedro Pascal

The American television seriesThe Last of Ushas won 58 awards from 147 nominations. Created byCraig Mazin andNeil Druckmann forHBO and based onthe video game franchise developed byNaughty Dog, it follows the charactersJoel andEllie.Pedro Pascal(pictured) andBella Ramsey have received the most acting nominations for the series. It has been nominated for twenty-fourPrimetime Emmy Awards, with a leading eight wins at the75th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards; Ramsey's was the secondnon-binary acting nomination and the first for aleading role, Pascal was the secondLatino nominated forLead Actor in a Drama Series and the first since1999, andKeivonn Montreal Woodard was the second-youngest Emmy nominee, the youngest ever forGuest Actor in a Drama Series, and the first nominated black deaf and second deaf actor. From major guilds, the series has won two awards at theScreen Actors Guild Awards and one at theDirectors Guild of America Awards andWriters Guild of America Awards, and received two nominations at theProducers Guild of America Awards. (Full list...)

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The Jewish Cemetery is an oil-on-canvas painting by the Dutch landscape painterJacob van Ruisdael. Painted in 1654 or 1655, it is an allegorical landscape painting suggesting ideas of hope and death, while also being based onBeth Haim, a cemetery located onAmsterdam's southern outskirts, at the town ofOuderkerk aan de Amstel. Beth Haim is a resting place for some prominent figures among Amsterdam's large Jewish Portuguese community in the 17th century. Ruisdael presents the cemetery as a landscape variant of avanitas painting, employing deserted tombs, ravaged churches, stormy clouds, dead trees, changing skies, and flowing water to symbolize death and the transience of all earthly things. The known provenance for the painting dates back only to 1739 and its original owner is not documented; since 1926, it has been owned by theDetroit Institute of Arts.

Painting credit:Jacob van Ruisdael

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