"Unusual, stout legs, slow-moving … and utterly endearing." This is how Kerri-Lee described our mystery ant. Photo: Kerri-Lee Harris & Paul Whitington
We were delighted to welcome two insect experts in autumn!
I know that Kerri-lee and Paul from Life in a Southern Forest don’t consider themselves to be experts, but it’s all relative hey, and compared to Michael and I, they are definitely experts!
Our property tour featured more than the usual feathered variety of animals and involved a lot more “heads down, bums up” as insects were spotted. We learnt so much from them, it was fantastic!
They’ve published a page on their website called Autumn in the Mallee to share their photos and findings. Highlighting the diversity of ants, other insects, prowling spiders, and a fair few birds too, this page is an amazing resource for us and our guests as well.
But let’s get back to that ant mystery of mine….
The habitat in our road reserve is rich with ant activity and I’ve found some interesting looking specimens on my morning dog walks through there. Kerri-lee was up for a walk so I showed her my favourite tubby little ants that I’d found only in one spot. She was thrilled and intrigued, and promised to try and identify them.
So……… drum roll……………. they are Shield Ants, Meranoplus oceanicus. The amount of time and effort involved in identifying this down to species level is mind-blowing to me. Have a look at their page of working notes and you’ll see what I mean. All those carefully labelled photographs and notes – wow!
We can’t thank them enough and look forward to their next visit, hopefully in warmer times when there is more in flower and more insect activity.
Heads down, bums up, the paparazzi busily photographing a Spotted Predatory Katydid (Chlorobalius leucoviridis). Photo: Louise Nicholas.