I grew up calling them Jack Jumpers (our local variety were a dull blue / grey), others say Jumping Jacks and the literature just says jumping ants - bull ants...
Either way, this thistle seems an appropriate place to avoid them, because they will make you jump if they nip you...
Nice capture, At first I thought it was two ants fighting. How long are these ants?
Bob
Thx Bob.
That one was about 12mm I think. Sometimes they might be up to 15mm or 2cm depending on the variety.
They're big ants.
Where I grew up there was also an ant called inchman. He was about 2.5 - 3cm (perhaps why the name ~ 1 inch). They also bite - one of the most painful according to the literature, but my recollection was that the jack jumper and common bull ant were the most painful - quite / very uncomfortable but only a problem for those that suffer anaphylactic reactions.
They pretty much only live in the bush, never see them in town.
Great catch Bryan , is there nothing in Australia that can't hurt you one way or another 😀 Meanwhile folk who come here Scotland bemoan our beloved midges, My brother and his wife moved to Thailand and we have visited a few times, there were creepy crawlies that gave my wife nightmare's , I was not far behind her 😀
Hi thx Jim,
I sometimes think about tribes people growing up in Africa or even Asia - lions, tigers, protective hippo mothers, etc. It's not too hard to avoid the nasties here. We do have midges (maybe your ancestors brought them 😉) and mozzies here in various quantities. I have spent plenty of time in Indonesia and there is the odd creepy crawly there that can be very dangerous - knowing which one is the hard part.
Interesting specimen you caught there too - fascinating eye structure...
There are folk here who freak out if a wasp comes within 10ft of them . I remember having a chat with photographer over on DPreview from the USA who had been over here visiting his families routes on Skye he was complaining about the midges , meanwhile he had another thread showing { for me } quite close up shots of bears . Midges may well bite but it would take an awful lots of them to do the damage a bear could. 😀
I could not find the photos I took over in Thailand of a gruesome looking centipede /millipede critter it must have been a foot long and apparently it can give a nasty bite . Though it would need to catch me first running away like Usain Bolt
I get that. We get familiar with certain animal behaviour, and although one may be potentially lethal, we get agitated and more affected by little things that make us uncomfortable.
I got 3 wasp stings on the back of my head / neck one day. It didn't tickle but if I had a choice between that and a bad tooth or ear ache, I would take the wasp stings any day...
I get that too. Once again it is what we are familiar with. I am sure the Thai people would maybe just give it a wide berth (or it might even go on the menu), but I would probably be running alongside you...
