HEADLINES: Queen assaulted by unknown male !!!!

Sitting in the garden musing over the dearth of avian prey to photograph, I notice that the colonies of Black Ants were erupting in great numbers. It was the arrival, very close, of one particular new queen with attachment. This prompted me to wonder if they had coupled prior to take off or it was an act of supreme aerial jiggery pokery that resulted in the passenger? Well I can confirm that the mating flight is consumated in the air, by landing on the queens back and working down to the relavant postion. Once the deed is done the male will drop off and die with in a day or two.

On closer inspection of the colonies I could find or see no Queen's departing their selected blade of grass with a suitor bumming a ride!!! so I just enjoyed some of the ant,ics! getting attacked in the process.

Boy that's a long way down!

Pre-flight checks, sneaky passenger trying his luck.

Take off, going down!

Probably pre-seminated any take off pad was in order.

Landing was proving a hazard, not for the spiders though.

And then along comes a Staphy!! a real corker of a Rove Beetle (Staphylinus erythropterus) watching the long wings being re-folded into the carapace is always an intriging thing to see.

Some interesting mouth parts on this specimen indeed.

There were, as the evening drew in, many other species roaming my back jungle. But more of that later.

Cheers and a cup of tea..

Paul