Ants and the sunflower bud

Camera : Canon EOS 550D 

Taken in my garden – Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa 

See the tiny ant at the bottom of the bud? He is just an extra bonus!

Sunflowers are very attractive to aphids, therefore I normally have a couple of them growing amongst my flowers. And where aphid colonies exist, ants are sure to follow. Just before I took this pic, I noticed the aphids on the underside of the leaves and what amazed me was the fact that each aphid had its own ant!

Ants are attracted to aphids because of a sticky, sweet substance they produce when feeding, called honeydew. Honeydew isn’t the sole food source for ants, but when an aphid colony is in the area, the ants can harvest this nutrient-rich substance continually with less effort than what is required to constantly locate new food sources. Because of this, ants protect aphid colonies ferociously, warding off other pests and parasites. I just leave the aphids, they never seem to do much damage to the sunflowers and at least it keeps them away from my other flowers.

As I do not use any pesticides in my garden whatsoever, I normally eliminate aphids from my flowers with blasts of water from a garden hose. Once dislodged, the pests are unable to re-attach before they die.

I took two of the ants and put them on a wooden pole on my patio so I could get a picture, It was almost impossible to get a picture of them at the bottom of the leaves. These two just sat there, unsure of what was happening and why they were in a strange place. After I took the photograph, I edged them back onto the sheet of paper and placed them back on the leaf, where they immediately started running around trying to get their bearings.

The sunflower (Helianthus annuus) is an annual plant native to the Americas.

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Veldfire!

Camera : Canon EOS 550D
Taken on our smallholding (Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa)

Yesterday afternoon half our plot’s grazing was destroyed by a veldfire, driven by a strong, icy cold wind, as it raged across our smallholding. The flames were only 1 or 2 feet high, but seemed to have a life of their own, jumping and billowing to over a meter high at intervals. All the staff were out in force, trying to keep it away from the house and other buildings. Sometimes it’s not the size of the fire that is scary, but the speed at which it can gallop.

Where these start is always a mystery…

 

 

 

 

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Friday 13th Full Moon

oh, the one i love 

is like the moon 

so unattainable 

bathing me in light 

i gaze i gaze i gaze 

my heart is filled 

but i will never hold him 

in my arms 

others may take my hand 

and gently lead me 

to the dance 

saying: "you are dreaming tonight 

your eyes are always skyward 

tonight" 

and i blush and i say 

"it's only the moon" 

- unknown

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Last week Friday the 13th it was full moon - this in itself is not unusual, just the fact that it doesn't happen that often. The previous Friday 13th full moon was on October 13th, 2000 and the next Friday the 14th full moon will only happen on August 13th 2049, then again in 2063.

Despite many myths, the full moon does not actually embolden criminals, bring about births or make people mad. However, pet owners might want to avoid walking their black cats under the full moon on Friday 13th! he he!

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Striped Grass Mouse (Rhabdomys pumilio)

Camera : Canon EOS 550D
Taken in my garden, Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa

This little Striped Grass Mouse (Rhabdomys pumilio) or Four-striped Grass Mouse was quite unperturbed at my presence this afternoon as he shared some corn with all the other garden birds. I often see a pair together snacking on seeds I put out.

As its common name suggests, the four-striped grass mouse is easily identified by the 4 distinct dark longitudinal stripes running the length of the back. Colour varies from dark grizzled russet brown to a grey-white. The sides and underparts are lighter but vary from off-white to pale grey-brown. The backs of the ears and the snout are russet to yellowish brown. The upper surfaces of the feet are usually lighter in colour than the body. Research has shown that the average body size does vary in different geographical areas, and that tails can be shorter or equal to the body length.

Length 19-26cm, weight about 43g. Diurnal and occuring in all parts of South Africa except most of Limpopo. Prefers fairly dense cover and feeds mostly on green vegetable matter, seeds and insects. Also likes the soft parts of the bracts and flowers of Proteas thus becoming an important agent in the pollination of some species. They excavate burrows, sometimes to a depth of 50cm. Striped mouse are active during the day, but are seldom active at night as they cannot maintain their body temperature if the environment is below 5 degrees C.

Afrikaans : Streepmuis
Die Streepmuis (Rhabdomys pumilio) is ’n muis wat in die hele Suid-Afrika voorkom behalwe in die grootste gedeelte van Limpopo en die noorde KwaZulu-Natal. Die streepmuis is bleek rooibruin in die weste tot donker grysbruin in die ooste van die area waarin hy voorkom. ’n Kenmerk van die soogdiertjie is die vier strepe op die rug. Die streepmuis is daglewend en word tot 19cm lank en weeg 30 – 55g. Hierdieie knaagdiertjie woon in grasryke dele in halfwoestyn tot bergwêreld met hoë reënval en is daglewend. Die streepmuis grawe gate onder ou gras of by die basis van ’n bos met voetpaadjies na die weigebied. Hulle eet sade en ander plantmateriaal. Daar word gewoonlik 5-6 kleintjies in die somer gebore.

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I can't find the sugar, Hon!

Camera : Canon EOS 550D 

Taken in my garden (Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa)

A female African masked-weaver (Ploceus velatus) inspecting a nest to see if it suits her requirements. More often than not, the female will reject the nest and look elsewhere, sending the males into a frenzy of building two or three nests at the same time, sometimes as many as six!

This female was quite impressed with the housing and shortly after her inspection, she flew to the ground, returning with a feather and disappeared inside. the male was ecstatic! He did a little dance on the branch above her, and then joined her inside. How I wish I could have seen what was going on in there!

But the nesting season is all over now, the males have all lost their breeding colours and the garden is strangely quiet with just the odd chirps.

The Southern Masked-Weaver or African Masked-Weaver is a native of sub-Saharan Africa with a short, conical bill. Adult males in breeding plumage have a black face and throat, red eyes, a bright yellow head and under-parts, and yellowish-green upper-parts, whereas females (and non-breeding males) are dull greenish yellow, streaked darker on the upper back, and the throat is yellowish, becoming off-white on the belly, with duller irides. It nests in colonies, like other weavers, and the nests, again like those of other weavers, are woven of reeds, palms or grasses. The Southern Masked-Weaver appears to have established itself locally in parts of northern Venezuela.

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