Ants in the trees
A little rain several nights ago with some follow-up drizzle this afternoon has freshened up the garden and given some relief to the new tree plantings which have had to be hand-watered. Our dear neighbour whose property is also part of the Wild Wings & Swampy Things Nature Refuge suggested that we extend a water line from her bore to enable us to keep planting as we have had so little rain in the last two months – a generous suggestion which has worked well. While our conditions cannot compare to the extreme dryness in parts of the southern states our rainfall is well below average.
Happily there is still lots to see and do…….
Green Tree Ants (Oecophylla smaragdina) are a common sight in Northern Australia, and very common in many of our exotic fruit trees. They will aggressively attack predators which is unfortunate if you accidently come into contact with a nest, however their presence in a tree usually means an absence of paper wasps – and a close enounter with paper wasps is a much more painful experience often producing an allergic reaction.
Green Tree Ants bite with their jaws and then squirt a stinging fluid containing ascorbic acid into the wound from the tip of their green abdomen.
The nests, which can appear in shape and size like a football, are made by the ants pulling leaves together. Often quite a long chain of ants is required to hold the leaves in close proximity while the workers use silk produced by the larvae to seal them. They are aggressive in defence of the nest and will rear up waving their legs frantically.
Green ants play an important role in ‘cleaning’ up animal carcasses but they can be opportunistic and will attack a weakened creature or young bird before it is dead. Not a pleasant scene to witness.
There is a Green Ant in the second photo holding a larvae as they try to repair a damaged nest, ( it is the ant in the lower centre of the photo with the darker head).
And finally, to put a nest in some perspective in the landscape - a more distant view of a fairly large nest quite high in a Paperbark tree on the edge of the swamp.
A variety of Scales
Ulysses (Papilo ulysses) on Callistemon flower
Towards the end of the ‘wet’ we often experience extended periods of drizzly rain but now we are happily enjoying some clear, starry nights and beautiful sunny days. Although cool, the evenings are quite pleasant as long as we remember to put on some extra clothes and to close all the doors to keep in some of the day’s warmth.
Butterflies have been busy feeding on flowering Callistemon – a good height for some photos unlike the Melaleucas which are also very popular with the nectar lovers but too high for me to get a good photo. Both Melaleuca and Callistemon flowers are constantly visited by birds and butterflies during the day and Spectacled Fruit Bats feast on the Melaleucas at night. Even though this photo could have been sharper I can’t resist including it because I was so pleased to have two Ulysses in the one shot! The host plant for Ulysses is Corkwood (Melicope elleryana) a fast growing Rainforest tree which we often include in our revegetation work.
Union Jack Butterfly (Delias mysis mysis)
The larvae of Union Jack butterflies (Delias mysis mysis) feed on the broad leaves of a red-flowering Mistletoe according to Common & Waterhouse. Although Mistletoe is a parasitic plant it provides a good source of nectar and so we don’t make much of an effort to discourage it especially as it often flowers when there is little else available.
Now that the days are cooler the cold-blooded creatures are being seen a little more frequently as they make the most of any patches of sunlight. I disturbed this young Red-bellied Black Snake (Pseudechis porphyriacus) which was lying quietly on some dead grass until I walked down the hill concentrating on the water ahead of me and not watching where I was going. When I heard a movement on the grass I saw that I had disturbed this poor fellow but managed to get a quick photo before he slid off into another pile of mulch. Although they are a venomous snake we don’t consider Red-bellied Blacks a threat to our safety. Like most snakes they would prefer to keep out of our way whenever possible. It appears that this snake has attempted to make itself look bigger by flattening out but I think it looks like it needs a good feed!
Red-bellied Black Snake (Pseudechis porphyriacus)
Glimpses of colour
Junonia hedonia zelima (Brown Soldier)
I had intended to post these butterfly photos prior to our departure on a short holiday but I was too distracted with preparations to concentrate. Now we are back, delighted to be home after a wonderful holiday enjoying many happy family gatherings as well as some good walks and exciting birdwatching in the Brisbane environs.
The first photo shows the underside of the wings of Junonia hedonia zelima with its delicate patterns of red and pale blue on a dark background. Quite a contrast to the bright orange topside. It is often seen in swampy areas amongst Melaleuca as well as in garden situations – a bright splash of colour.
Junonia hedonia zelima (Brown Soldier)
According to Common & Waterhouse in “Butterflies of Australia” the larvae of this Junonia feed on a small herbaceaous plant called Hygrophila salicifolia, which grows in swampy conditions. In fact this Hygrophila grows in water and is known as an aquarium plant. An alternative host plant for this species is Hemigraphis alternata, a prostrate ornamental plant with purplish leaves - both these plants belong to the family Acanthaceae. According to Charles McCubbin in “Australian Butterflies” this is one of the butterfly species collected while Endeavour was beached at Cooktown. There is no reference to the origins of the common name – Brown Soldier.
Arhopala micale amphis (Common Oakblue)
This delightful little butterfly is more of a challenge to photograph as it flits around the garden or rainforest showing flashes of electric blue. I have not, as yet, managed to take a photo of the upper side of the wing showing this colour but if you look carefully along the wing you will see a glimpse of it. While at rest the butterfly frequently shifts its wings which makes the short curved tails on the hind wings wiggle. Charles McCubbin observed a significant number of Oakblues with damage to both hindwings which nearly always included the loss of both these tails. He came to the conclusion that the movement of the tails directed predator attack to an expendable portion of the wing membrane.
There are several families of native trees on which the larvae have been recorded feeding however, both larvae and pupae of Arhopala micale amphis are always attended by Green Tree Ants. When not feeding the larvae will rest in the shelter of a curled leaf or at the entrance to the ant’s nest.
A Right Royal Dragonfly
Finally … after several days of hard physical work we took some time off to relax and enjoy our surroundings while taking some photos. Between us we’ve identified a couple more tiny Damselflies, sorted out the differences between some closely related Orthetrums and found another member of Libellulidae. The Water Prince or perhaps a Princess? Hydrobasileus brevistylus is the only Australian species of the genus, which is also found in South-East Asia, Indonesia, New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.
I knew this Orthetrum sabina (Slender Skimmer) was carrying something when I first saw it but it was only as I got closer I realized it’s victim was in fact another Dragonfly, possibly another Orthetrum species but it is difficult to be confident about the identification of the victim.
Dragonflies in Blue
A couple of views of Diplacodes trivialis (Chalky Percher)showing the different wing positions at rest. This mature male had selected his territory and was cruising a short distance around the pond before resting in the same area of silt-covered sedge, so it gave me a reasonable chance of a photo.
Orthetrum caledonicum has been given the common name of Blue Skimmer in the ‘Complete Field Guide to Dragonflies of Australia’. Another male guarding his territory and waiting for the arrival of a female mate. He was at the other end of the same small pond!
And one more photo in this series of blue Libellulidae – Allen took this shot of Brachydiplax denticauda (Palemouth) in March last year with our earlier model Lumix so the definition isn’t quite as good. However, I want to include the photo to demonstrate the subtle differences of some our blue dragonflies.
I think my identification skills are slowly improving but please comment if you think there could be an error.
Munching the greens
As usual at this time of the year the monsoonal weather gives quite a boost to our insect population. I have finally protected some of our edible greens with mosquito net as the combination of caterpillar and grasshopper attack was not leaving us enough for a feed. Now I can enjoy the insects!
These long-horned grasshoppers are likely to be the same species, members of the family Tettigoniidae. Dr Roger Farrow, to whom I sent the photos, thinks they are probably in the Genus Polichne and he says that P. parvicauda is the most common species.
And just for a little colour; here is Acanthus ilicifolius or Holly Mangrove. Although it grows along the banks of the Daintree River in the tidal zone it is happy sprawling on the edge of our fresh water ponds and survives the dry season quite happily now that it is well established.
The macro view has somewhat exaggerated the size of the flower which isn’t actually very large but the blue is a welcome distraction amongst the many green hues of the vegetation along the pond edge. Although the plant looks wonderful in large thickets the irregular spiny teeth on the leaves and the spiny stems on this plant don’t make it a ‘gardener friendly’ plant.
Not too close
Two species of native, colonial paper wasps are building nests in the same palm in our garden although they are on different leaves and well separated by height. The Polistes species in this photogra
ph are quite low and I’m treating them with a great deal of respect; I know how painful their stings are! It is, however, fascinating to observe their behaviour and the nest construction is a work of art.
Native colonial paper wasps
Although the adult wasps feed on nectar their larvae are fed a high protein diet which includes caterpillars. And in the midst of this typical wet season weather we have a lot of caterpillars munching into the lush new growth on our trees as well as helping themselves to a variety of our green vegetables.
Winged Creatures
Allen identified and photographed some more dragonflies during our wet season – this strikingly marked Yellow-spotted Emerald was enjoying the wetlands habitat.
We are delighted to see an increase in the number of birds on the property, an encouraging sign that our restoration works are providing good habitat. We have had several recent sightings of juvenile Yellow-breasted Boatbill in family groups which is especially pleasing as we have previously only seen this species in remnant rainforest along the creek.
Black Bittern is still feeding in the new wetland and a pair of Azure Kingfisher has also been making use of the perching posts installed prior to the wetlands filling with the rains.
Birds and Butterflies
Wandering Whistling Duck have returned to the wetlands after an absence of a few months. They are so well camouflaged amongst the waterlilies that I wouldn’t have noticed them if I hadn’t been scanning around with the binoculars.
Grey and Rufous Fantail have arrived for their winter residency; it is always delightful to watch them hunting for insects. We have recently enjoyed regular close sightings of Gould’s Bronze Cuckoo on the edge of the rainforest along the creek where there is usually much activity in the morning sun. And there are lots of butterflies about, especially when there is a burst of sun in between showers on a a wet day.
Wandering Pennant
We have made a start on our Dragonfly list with some photos and identification. They are fascinating creatures and it is a good time of the year to begin our list as there are plenty of dragonflies about feeding on the smaller insects around the wetlands. 
Barbara
Allen
