A lone soldier ant I discovered in the branch above my head.
I have a nest of these fearsome creatures dwelling somewhere in the garden, I have moved one nest entrance by gently persuading them to move over a course of weeks that it was not a good place to be and eventually that particular entrance was no longer in use.
I don't mind them being in the garden, however if bitten it is a quite awful experience, given their size they have a lot of poison to inject into an unprotected body part, and once they get a hold of you they will continue to bite until you can get them off.
It was difficult to get a clear shot due to the breeze that continually teased the leaves.
Will have to be mindful when down in the back part of the garden, I also want to know where the nest is so I don't stumble near to it by accident and disturb them.
Ants are often underrated by gardeners, seen as a pest, ants though help us out a lot.
Aerating the soil, moving seeds, eating larvae as well as dealing with other dead insects.
Although us humans tend to see these miraculous little creatures as pests, they really are only doing that which they were created to do.......
3 comments:
Wow, these are great photos of this creature. We don't see ants that large here in the city but there are plenty of tiny little fire ants around.
They have a painful bite too but since they are so small it isn't too bad. The bit will itch for days though so it's still best to stay out of their way.
Good macros.
Thank you both.
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