Cape Tribulation Daintree Rainforest

Believing that Green Tree Ants farm aphids concealed under frass, as presented in the previous entry, I have now been corrected. My friend and entomologist, Dr. Jennifer Marohasy has advised,

“Neil, I am going to disagree and suggest your ant is acutally farming a mealybug, not an aphid. Also most of ‘the mass’ is the body of the mealybug - perhaps a third or fourth instar.” Read the rest of this entry »

Green tree ants Oecophylla smaragdina farm aphids for their honeydew.  They are occasionally referred to as weaver ants because they form large leafy nests bound with silk.  Through amazing co-operative strength, they form strings of hundreds of ants anchored at each end only, to forcibly move small branches into position.  Other ants glue the leaves together with silk produced by squeezing their larvae.

They aggressively protect their nests and livestock, willingly biting any intruder and projecting streams of ascorbic acid to excite the sensitivity of wounds established with their choppers.   If bitten, humans can retaliate in-kind and enjoy the health benefits of an abundant source of vitamin C.

In matters of antennae, I imagine that surface area correlates with sensitivity. The male Hercules Moth Coscinocera Hercules must find his mate within a very short timeframe.

Adult females emerge from the chrysalis without mouth-parts; her 4-5 day life does not include feeding. After her wings unfold and dry, she emits pheromones to attract a male. After mating, she will fly away, lay her eggs on the underside of the leaves of a food plant and die shortly after. Read the rest of this entry »

Funny, the things that you see in nature, like this humanoid face on the cephalothorax of a golden orb-weaver, Nephila pilipes.

I have previously described aspects of this spectacular species of spider, here and here. With this instalment, the adult female in the image below descended from her web on the 19th April to build her egg-sac on the ceramic-tiled floor of our living room. Read the rest of this entry »

Australia faces an unprecedented challenge from climate change. We risk losing our natural heritage, our rivers, landscapes and biodiversity. We have a brief opportunity to act now to safeguard and shape our future prosperity. - AUSTRALIA 2020 SUMMIT - INITIAL SUMMIT REPORT

One of the 100 privileged participants within the POPULATION, SUSTAINABILITY, CLIMATE CHANGE, WATER & FUTURE OF OUR CITIES topic area, proposed,

“A zero species loss by 2020 goal, and one of the ways that this could be achieved is through a comprehensive series of protected areas.” Read the rest of this entry »

I always enjoy presenting these spectacular moths on night-walks across the course of the year, but manage to locate only three or four per annum.

I found this individual yesterday evening, beginning the long haul towards recovering my fourteen-year-old photographic collection, recently lost in a tragic hard-drive collapse.

Last August, a panel of scientists from the Australian Greenhouse Office and the CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation), called on the federal and state governments to expand the number of nature reserves in Australia in a bid to protect animal populations from climate change.

Following on from Queensland’s climate-linked plan of doubling its declared reserves, the Federal Government has now pledged $180 million to expand the National Reserve System.

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In the cross-hairs of Queensland Government Acquisition?

“The Queensland Government will channel more than $10 million a year into a new ‘Eco Fund’ to expand the state’s National Parks.”

So said the Hon. Premier, Anna Bligh and Minister for Sustainability, Climate Change and Innovation, the Hon. Andrew McNamara, in a joint statement last Friday.

“… we’re going to expand our National Parks by 50% … reaching a target of 12 million hectares by 2020 …”

Developers and other entities will pay for this doubling of protected area, by offsetting their environmental impacts and greenhouse emissions.

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No, this is not a photograph of my two left feet … I will only claim the shod one at the left. Australia’s heaviest native land animal, the adult female Southern Cassowary Casuarius casuarius johnsonii, left the imprint of the other. As can be seen against my size-10 clodhopper, this is a bird that would fill a room.

On the issue of footprints, tracking is an invaluable skill taught to traditional indigenous children throughout time. It is a form of literacy, although the script is somewhat unenduring. Nevertheless, as it is with tracking, translating faded writing is entirely possible if the essence of the letters and their sequencing allows reader anticipation to conform to the growing meaning of the prose.

Much is reported about rates of illiteracy in indigenous communities, but the tracks presented in the assessment are of an overly unfamiliar passing and in an abstract form. Would non-indigenous Australia be regarded as equivalently illiterate in its performance of an indigenous test of tracking comprehension?

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Contrary to the intent of the outgoing Douglas Shire Council’s resolution to not allow Council staff to participate in the process of preparing submissions to Queensland’s Draft Iconic legislation, the Queensland Department of Infrastructure and Planning has contracted the Planning Consultant primarily involved in developing the Douglas Shire’s Planning Scheme, to prepare a Draft Iconic Values Statement for Douglas Shire.

Having previously thought that one-month public consultation for Queensland’s Draft Iconic legislation was inadequate, the six days offered this afternoon, for the Draft Iconic Values Statement, is remarkably challenging. We are advised, “Unfortunately any submissions received after 6pm on Monday the 17th March 2008, will be unable to be considered.”

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