There can be a lot of time between whales, especially as the season is starting to wrap up. And so I've been taking my macro lens with me just in case, because if there's one thing this gal loves, it's having options.
After a particularly quiet afternoon I spotted one of my very favourite ants (as in ant species, not as in one individual ant. I'm not over here like, 'oh hi Gary! How's the wife and kids?) And having my macros lens I quickly dropped to my knees and tried to work out where their nest was so I could watch their comings and goings.
Green-Head Ants (man, I love a common name, especially a common name that makes sense. Don't come at me taxonomists) live underground, under rocks, twigs and branches or in decaying wood. The nest entrance of this colony was hidden under a couple of fallen leaves and I watched as they busily removed teeny little rocks which had likely come loose from the nest entrance itself, using their jaws to carry the load. They would then drop them a short distance away and head back to the nest once again. Rinse. Repeat.
Things were going great, me on the ground utterly fascinated, no whales in sight until I felt the little tickle of a rogue ant and then a very distinct sting. This wasn't one of the Green-Head Ants fortunately as their sting is pretty potent and some people are allergic. I'm a big sook and so a few stings, even itty bitty ones, and I was out of there. But as much as I'm a sook, I'm also a glutton for punishment and so I went back the next day to see if I could get some images.
And because I'm the luckiest gal in the world, I found a handful of them feeding on the nectar of the last few tea tree blossoms, at head height. They looked to have as much an issue with sugar as I do. I mean, they were right in there, head down, bum up and... not moving. They were really going to town! But after a relatively healthy diet of arthropods and seeds, sometimes you gotta indulge, right?
Green-Head Ant
Bass Point
