October socials
Here is a round-up of our social media posts from October. This collection is for those who don’t spend much time on Facebook or Instagram.
The lizards are out - a very yellow Central Bearded Dragon and a fierce Stumpytail. It’s Gazania hunting season. The White-browed Wood Swallows have arrived, and an attack of the Army Ants!
Stumpy-tail. Very scary display but I always love seeing these lizards.
Did you know they form long term bonds with their mates and give birth to live young. The eggs hatch inside the female's body! An amazing long-term study of the life of these lizards is here.
It's that time of year again ... Gazania hunting season!
Keep your eye out for these colorful nasties trying to take over the world. Gazanias can invade native bushland with their wind-dispersed seed easily travelling 2km from the nearest infestation.
Don't just pull them out though! Bag them and take them with you. The plant can still set seed even if it is pulled up by the roots.
More here: https://www.malleeconservation.com.au/blog/gazania
Shifting this guy off the track ... I've never seen one so yellow! This is a very pretty Central Bearded Dragon. You can pick them from the similar-looking Eastern Bearded Dragon because Easterns have pink inside their mouth, Centrals have yellow. Central Bearded Dragons also have a straight line of spines along the back of the head.
White-browed Woodswallow. Normally these guys are high up in the sky wheeling about. But these ones were foraging for grasshoppers on the ground.
Really pleased they chose our Belah revegetation patch to hang out in.
I saw these little red ants running about carrying ant babies. I felt sad because I thought their nest had been disturbed and they were rushing the babies to safety.
Not so. They were Army Ants (Lioponera sp.) returning from a successful raid on another ant colony. These ants are predators on other ants. Some Army Ants sting and paralyse their baby ant prey, and store them for months.