Green Ants at Kakadu Lodge, Jabiru Tue 3rd July
"Green ants are also in the park. Do not camp on their trails or directly under their nests. They can be a nuisance and sting when they bite." So says the Kakadu Lodge Caravan Park information.
Of course we didn't read this information until we'd set up camp, and anyway we had no idea what we were looking for ... until I checked the water hose next morning. All these pretty green ants had climbed up the hose to get a drink where the tap was leaking! Bugger!
Scouring the tree above the tap revealed no fewer than three nests. At the Bowali Information Centre we learned that green ants take over disused bower bird nests ... that's what we could see.
Next we witnessed the ants, working as a team, carrying a praying mantis up the tree to their nest ... a truly amazing sight. When this photo was taken the ants were 2 metres up the vertical tree trunk.
The motorhome parked next door moved when they discovered the ants. We have not moved. We put rings of insect repellent round the water hose close to the caravan to deter invasion. I am now wondering what will happen when I disconnect the ant covered water hose when we come to leave on the morning of Thursday 5th July?