Hi,
Australia has a lot of ants of many varieties. They are found all over the country in all types of climates and they dominate the landscape. One of the larger ants here are the family of ants belonging to Bulldog ants (Myrmecia) which has some species that can grow over 3.5cm, however the Jack Jumper ant is the smallest species in the Bulldog family at around 2cm but they are also one the most ferocious and potentially painful ants in that Bulldog ant family.
Bulldog ants are often described as more of a wingless wasp then ants, they are extremely aggressive and have painful stings that can cause anaphylactic reactions for people who are allergic to their venom, most are not at risk (estimated at 2-3% of the population) and will not have any issues after a bite apart from the pain but there have been a few recorded deaths from bites from this ant. It has huge jaws which humans dont need to worry about but it can continously sting and when it does it attracts other ants nearby to do the same. They are aggresive to the point its almost comical, seeing an ant go crazy mode on something 100x its size and not backdown for a minute is pretty funny.
I was stung by one these ants last year while visiting the Grampian's National Park and I have never forgotten it, when I'm out shooting anything, often close to or on the floor itself shooting spiders, bees, etc. - The only 2 things I worry about is snakes and these ants. I was stung on my hand and the pain was immediate, it felt like I put a large splinter going into my hand and the tip of the splinter was scraping a pain receptor or nerve, I immediately looked at my hand and saw the ant viciously trying to press in further and twist its little stinger into me. I wiped the ant away and felt a hot flush go through my body, all of that went away pretty fast and my hearbeat settled but that was one ant to remember and stay away from. I had pain on that bite for about 2 days.
I have tried for a while to shoot one but they are extremely active, when upset they raise their bodies up tall, lift their tails, sometimes they do an angry little hop (thankfully they dont do full jumps unto people) and that's the reason for their name. This time I found the ant investigating a piece of bark and stationary and managed to get this shot, its not amazing, more documentary in value and testing some Topaz software, hope you enjoy:
Australia has a lot of ants of many varieties. They are found all over the country in all types of climates and they dominate the landscape. One of the larger ants here are the family of ants belonging to Bulldog ants (Myrmecia) which has some species that can grow over 3.5cm, however the Jack Jumper ant is the smallest species in the Bulldog family at around 2cm but they are also one the most ferocious and potentially painful ants in that Bulldog ant family.
Bulldog ants are often described as more of a wingless wasp then ants, they are extremely aggressive and have painful stings that can cause anaphylactic reactions for people who are allergic to their venom, most are not at risk (estimated at 2-3% of the population) and will not have any issues after a bite apart from the pain but there have been a few recorded deaths from bites from this ant. It has huge jaws which humans dont need to worry about but it can continously sting and when it does it attracts other ants nearby to do the same. They are aggresive to the point its almost comical, seeing an ant go crazy mode on something 100x its size and not backdown for a minute is pretty funny.
I was stung by one these ants last year while visiting the Grampian's National Park and I have never forgotten it, when I'm out shooting anything, often close to or on the floor itself shooting spiders, bees, etc. - The only 2 things I worry about is snakes and these ants. I was stung on my hand and the pain was immediate, it felt like I put a large splinter going into my hand and the tip of the splinter was scraping a pain receptor or nerve, I immediately looked at my hand and saw the ant viciously trying to press in further and twist its little stinger into me. I wiped the ant away and felt a hot flush go through my body, all of that went away pretty fast and my hearbeat settled but that was one ant to remember and stay away from. I had pain on that bite for about 2 days.
I have tried for a while to shoot one but they are extremely active, when upset they raise their bodies up tall, lift their tails, sometimes they do an angry little hop (thankfully they dont do full jumps unto people) and that's the reason for their name. This time I found the ant investigating a piece of bark and stationary and managed to get this shot, its not amazing, more documentary in value and testing some Topaz software, hope you enjoy:
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. The ant looks like a beast.
