Aussie Finch Forum

Just wondering what others have encounted while collecting WhiteAnts?
Ive come across masses of big Grubs, Very large Scorpions, Big active Orange ants,and of course the small black ants..
Just goes to show theres a hole ECO system..around the old white ants..
Havent yet but heard of the old ''Joe Blake''
Has anyone come across anything else?

yes,six inch centerpedes ? they frightened the crap out of me. Craig

Oh yes forgot about those big fellas Lol !

Suffolk,
Just replied to your inquiry re "butcherbirds" but how about you "Introduce Yourself" to all of the members? It would be nice to know what you have or have not so advice can be given to assist you with our experiences.

Matcho.

I did in the 'introduce yourself section' Thanks

crocnshas wrote:yes,six inch centerpedes ? they frightened the crap out of me. Craig

I've seen some big velvet worms {onychophorans} which look like six-inch centipedes but have soft bodies and nonsegmented legs.
Goannas use them for nesting sites, as do kingfishers and some parrots.

The big active orange ants might be the symbiotic termite-mound ants I get around here; they lay their eggs in the mound and protect it from intruders. Their big white pupae are great finch tucker; the painteds like them particularly.

suffolk wrote:Havent yet but heard of the old ''Joe Blake''

...and the smallest python in the world is the "anthill python", aka the "children's python", which lives termite mounds in the Pilbara. I haven't heard of other snakes using the mounds but I woudn't be surprised....

How do you get the ant eggs without the ants?
Can the eggs be stored eg fridge/freezer?
Cheers

Seen Goanna eggs & hatchlings a few times and a couple of kingfisher nests in ground-based termite nests, plus giant worms, legless lizards, bandybandy & small-eyed snakes under nests when they were levered out. A huge variety of insects as well.

I often see Echidnas - one was bold enough to come in and start eating while I was still digging into the nest.