Friday, March 17, 2006

Greenants.
















These are Greenants. They may have a proper name? I don't know. When I was visiting the rainforest in far North Queensland , I saw these everywhere, and I mean everywhere! They are about seven centimetres long and an iridescent green colour.















This is a Greenants Nest. It is a mass of dead leaves they stick them together somehow and make a nest high up in the trees.

Oh, Here we go, I found some info:

"Green Ants (Oecophylla sp)are extremely common in Far North Queensland and build large nests in trees by sticking the leaves at the end of branches together to create a sort of globular home. They clamber all over the tree containing their nest and serve to protect it from invaders. These ants are often found in fruit trees.
When the unsuspecting person tries to help themselves to some tasty fruit to eat, the aggressive green ants drop down on them and start biting. Their bite is not very painful but several ants attacking simultaneously can be rather uncomfortable."
From Here:
http://www.wettropics.gov.au/pa/pa_ants.html

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