Saturday, December 04, 2004

Green Ant Dreaming


There are a number of varieties of ants running about our place. Some so small that I need my glasses to see them, some quite large - the black "meat ants" that bite quite strongly & the green ants of which there are probably millions in the back yard.

Green ants build their nests in trees, by sticking leaves together. For adhesive they use a secretion obtained by squeezing the bodies of their pupae. Usually their nests are about the size of a mango or papaya; but there is currently one in the garden, on top of a palm frond, that is the size of a basketball.

Their clear abdomens - dig the back ant - contain an ascorbic acid-like substance that is used by the Aborigines as bush tucker.
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