Tag Archives: Native

Bulldog Ant

Animals, , ,

Myrmecia

I’m not bothered much by ticks, leeches, spiders or snakes, but bulldog ants really put me on edge. It’s not just they are HUGE, it’s their behaviour and aggressiveness. While most wild animals seem timid and will avoid human contact bulldog ants will actively seek out and attack a threat. They don’t swarm mindlessly in large numbers, bulldog ants hunt alone and are large enough that you can clearly see their heads, eyes and other body parts. To see an ant turn it’s head, look at you and then turn it’s large body around and start jumping at you is really off-putting. And it’s not all posturing, they back it up with an excruciating sting.

So large you can see the ball and socket joints in it’s antenna

There are around 90 species of Bulldog ants almost all of them endemic to Australia. They are considered a primitive ant having evolved around 100 million years ago. All ant species living today are thought to have come from ancestors that were similar in looks and behaviour to bulldog ants.

I’ve been bitten by these ants several times, actually it’s not a bite but a sting. You first feel the tiny pinch of their large mandibles grabbing your skin, if you’re fast enough you get to then see them bend their large body around and jab you with the point of their abdomen. It feels like a needle of fire has been driven in. Their venom has the potential to induce  anaphylactic shock, there are several known cases of death caused by these guys, yikes!

Bulldog ant with a small black ant to give an idea of size. The bulldog ant was dead, the black ant would have long gone otherwise.

The ant in the photos is dead. My daughter found it walking around the house, I captured it in a plastic container. It hurled itself around inside for about an hour before quieting down. As I watched it it got slower and slower. I opened the lid and it could barely move, not long afterwards it was dead. I have no idea what happened, maybe it was sick to begin with, or possibly it exhausted itself trying to escape?

Bulldog ant with match for scale. Looks like the queen from the movie Aliens!

All the photos were taken with a Canon Digital Rebel XTi using a reverse ring and the standard 18-55 zoom lens. It was hard to get a sharp shot, depth of field was around 1mm

Resources and references

 

 

Variegated Fairywren

Animals, , , ,

Malurus lamberti

[Update] I originally posted this as Malurus elegans – The Red-winged fairywren. It still looks very much to me like the Red-winged fairywren but due to it’s location it’s almost certainly a Variegated fairywren.

In an effort to get some new material to post I camped myself out the back of the house with a camera for a while. I had a first try with Tom but sitting silently in the bush with a 3 year old was never going work! It turned out to be a productive trip in the end, if this bird is what I think it is I cant find any reference of it being present in the Sydney area.

After 15 minutes or so if sitting a pair of these tiny grey birds came into view, playing and chasing each other through the scrubby undergrowth. They really are small, not including the tail I would say less that 10cm from beak to bottom. Their call was a soft shrill, almost like the cross between a buzzing insect and a cherp.

Female Red-winged fairywren
Female Variegated fairywren – they are small ( about 10cm without tail ) and fast! bouncing through the undergrowth
Variegated fairywren – now you see her..
Variegated fairywren – and she’s gone!

After a bit more waiting a similar sized but much more brilliantly coloured individual appeared. He was always on the move, it was hard to get a good photo as he flew around in the trees and undergrowth, always avoiding exposed locations.

Male Variegated fairywren – stunning, almost luminous markings
Variegated fairywren. It was difficult to get a good photo as he darted about the undergrowth, never exposing himself.

When I got back and had a chance to process and study the photos I identified the birds as female and male Red-winged fairywrens. Yet another bird I’ve not heard of, but most interestingly they are only meant to be found in the south west corner of Western Australia. After some more searching it seems there is a very similar looking species called the Variegated fairywren that is much more widespread across Australia. It consists of 4 subspecies, one of which, Malurus lamberti lamberti is reported in suburban bushland in Sydney.

The Variegated fairywren is found in forest undergrowth, they are constantly on le move and avoid open exposed positions. Like other fairywrens they are notable for their sexual dimorphism, with the male being very pretty and the female smart but a bit dull. They nest near the ground in a coarse dome of bark, leaves and grass usually concealed in dense vegetation.

Breeding is from September to January, I spotted these guys today ( December ) maybe I was watching a courtship.

References and other sources

Links from original post to information on the Red-winged fairywren:

 

 

Pied Cormorant

Animals, , , ,

Phalacrocorax varius

This Pied Cormorant was spotted perched by the bank of Middle Harbour River. The noise of the family must have been too much for it as it soon flew away. I’ll have to go back to try and get some clearer photos.

Pied Cormorant sitting near the bank of Middle Harbour River

The Pied Cormorant is a large bird with white underside and black wings and top. They are found in marine habitats and feed mainly on fish but will also take crustaceans and mollusks. Like all Cormorants they catch their food by swimming underwater making use of their large webbed feet. Their feathers are not waterproof which is why cormorants are so often spotted standing wings outstretched in the sun.

Pied Cormorant in flight – The family was too loud for it

Sources and more info

Scaly phebalium

Plants, , ,

Phebalium squamulosum

“An open slender lightly foliaged shrub” – NPOS p. 120

This plant was hard to identify, as best as I can tell it’s a Scaly Phebalium.

Scaly Phebalium – flowing in winter, they’re meant to flower in spring.

The  Scaly Phebalium is a small woody shrub growing to about 1.5m. It’s leaves are narrow, less that 10mm wide, deep green with lighter coloured dots on the top side. The undersides are lighter in colour and covered in small scales, which is where the common name comes from. It’s found in standsone landscapes and is common in the Sydney area.

NPOS describes it as aromatic, it does have a smell but it’s not nearly as strong as a tea tree, it could be that I have a bit of a blocked nose at the moment and am trouble smelling too.

Leaf underside showing the small scales. The leaf is about 8mm wide

Sources and more info