It seems that as a species develops more emphasis on brains, it also produces more assholes.

[symtrkl@anarres.family]

@alice Are octopi known to be assholes or are they the outliers here? Also pigs are absolutely smart and also assholes.

Having a hard time thinking of assholes on the other end of the spectrum. Bedbugs probably, they're little shitheads but right up there with amoeba on the "stimulus/response and no smarter" scale.

[rupert@mastodon.nz]

@alice Tarantula hawk wasps paralyse spiders, lay eggs inside them and the larvae eat their way out of the still-living spider.
Very low intelligence, extreme assholery.

[eleanor@chaosfem.tw]

@alice Scorpions are jerks. Most arachnids, including black widows, would prefer to go hide in the shadows rather than confront anything. But scorpions will put that tail up and come after you.

[bielsubob@infosec.exchange]

@alice Geese would probably land high on the asshole list.

[schrotthaufen@mastodon.social]

@alice I think comrade Capybara is quite based. https://time.com/6173837/capybaras-argentina-climate-change/

[joshsusser@autistics.life]

@alice probably some species of cichlid. those fish are surprisingly complicated.

on the other hand, hermit crabs are so polite that they will line up in order of size to wait for a shell of the right size to become available and then pass an empty shell down the line.

[nickgates@friendsofdesoto.social]

@ColesStreetPothole @ai6yr @alice the scrub jays are one meeting in a smoky room away from starting a protection racket in my neighborhood

[nickgates@friendsofdesoto.social]

@ColesStreetPothole @ai6yr @alice "it would be a shame if any of those acorns germinated someplace... inconvenient"

"Just take your pay for the month, Don Scrubjay"

[bob_zim@infosec.exchange]

@alice @tompearce49 Peacock mantis shrimp are pretty widely considered deserving of their initials.

[pascaldragon@metalhead.club]

@alice strange that you had that happen with a hornet At least for me I encountered hornets as rather chill and very helpful to keep wasps away (they know they're the big kid on the block and don't need to proof it like their smaller cousins )
Maybe it's a difference in specific subspecies? My experience is based on the European Hornet

[colesstreetpothole@weatherishappening.network]

@NickGates @ai6yr @alice
Scrubjay Mafia is my new band name. #IMNBN

[kirtai@tech.lgbt]

@alice
Mantis shrimps?

[kirtai@tech.lgbt]

@bob_zim @bruce @MRutenberg @mattblaze @alice
Well, bees are basically vegan, communist wasps.

[ruemaleficent@kolektiva.social]

@alice Budgerigar parakeets are notorious for being little jerks a lot of the time.

[bruce@darkmoon.social]

@bob_zim @MRutenberg @mattblaze @alice

Ah, right. I missed that.

[plutarch@gotosocial.plutar.ch]

@mattblaze @alice

Except for Tarantula Hawks, which allegedly have the most painful sting of any wasp, however ironically.  The reason why they occasionally act not-sober is because they occasionally consume was-sugar-then-fermented things.  They will literally hit you on the way by because they didn't see you, and become stunned momentarily, and then snap out of it and just continue on their way while ignoring you.  Remember that that thing could ruin your day if it really wanted to.  If you manage to catch it and trap it against your skin, it might.  Otherwise, they simply do not care.  More people need to be more like Tarantula Hawks.

[grumble209@kolektiva.social]

@IanAMartin @alice I'm told that steers can be dicks when they get enough calories.

Feed 'em grass, or let them graze, and they are typically low in calories and chill except when threatened. Feed them grain, and they get a lot more spicy.

My coworker used to raise 2 or 3 steers every year for meat. He said the last few weeks before slaughter when he switched them to all-grain diet was his least favorite time of year.

[alice@lgbtqia.space]

@roknrol as someone who has a lot of crow acquaintances, some are serious dicks.

There's one my girlfriend and I dubbed "Notch" on account of him missing a couple feathers on either side. He knows we feed all the crows on our walk, but if we're not fast enough for him he'll swoop by and tag my head with the tip of his wing—sometimes two or three times like "where're the goods, kibble fairy?"

[alice@lgbtqia.space]

@rupert oh no! I didn't know that, and now otters are less cute

[mrinappropriate@mastodonapp.uk]

@IanAMartin @alice I have always found that horses aren’t intelligent at all. Their owners are the assholes, though.