Theresa was asking about Australia, and I mentioned something about eucalyptus trees, which are called gum trees down under. Since people are always asking me what gum trees are like, I took some photographs.
I took these in Canberra, which is a fair ways inland, and is fairly dry, yes. Sydney which is on the coast is fairly humid, probably on par with NYC in the summer.
i would guess 3/4-1in long. they are officially called "red velvet ants" but are actually wasps (females have no wings). yes, i am a dork, and my parents have lots of field guide type stuff around our house...
New Mexico: Meep meep! In New Mexico we have roadrunners. It is in fact the state bird. They are super skiddish though; in all my years in New Mexico and Arizona I’ve only seen one once!!
Australia: You have probably seen lots of pictures of kangaroos and koalas (*yawn*), but have you ever seen a Lyrebird? One is featured on the ten cent piece
An echidna is like a walking pincushion, and along with the platypus, the only egg laying mammals.
We have "white ants" in Australia, although they are more translucent than white, and they aren't really ants either. They are true termites, or proto-ants and have no exoskeleton.
Check out the termite mounds that they live in. They can’t survive for long in an Oxygen-Nitrogen, because they lack an exoskeleton, so you don’t often see them outside of the nest.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2005-04-21 09:49 pm (UTC)i have never seen a bug like that! i will hvae to find a picture of a cow killer ant.
also: is this a very dry climate?
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Date: 2005-04-21 09:53 pm (UTC)You’ve never seen a grasshopper before?
I took these in Canberra, which is a fair ways inland, and is fairly dry, yes. Sydney which is on the coast is fairly humid, probably on par with NYC in the summer.
no subject
Date: 2005-04-21 09:59 pm (UTC)we occasionally find these in my parents' yard!
i am very smart. i've never seen a grasshopper that color, i guess.
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Date: 2005-04-21 10:02 pm (UTC)I figured the color had thrown you off.
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Date: 2005-04-21 10:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-21 10:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-21 11:04 pm (UTC)also found in our on occasion:
copperheads.
gray fox.
opossum (more frequently found dead in the road).
whippoorwills, which sound like car alarms when you are trying to sleep.
also, these blue-tailed lizards that are not skinks, but are closely related. i will have to ask my mom on that one.
no subject
Date: 2005-04-21 11:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-22 07:51 am (UTC)!!!
New Mexico:
Meep meep! In New Mexico we have roadrunners. It is in fact the state bird. They are super skiddish though; in all my years in New Mexico and Arizona I’ve only seen one once!!
Australia:
You have probably seen lots of pictures of kangaroos and koalas (*yawn*), but have you ever seen a Lyrebird? One is featured on the ten cent piece
An echidna is like a walking pincushion, and along with the platypus, the only egg laying mammals.
no subject
Date: 2005-04-21 10:09 pm (UTC)We have "white ants" in Australia, although they are more translucent than white, and they aren't really ants either. They are true termites, or proto-ants and have no exoskeleton.
no subject
Date: 2005-04-21 10:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-21 10:14 pm (UTC)Check out the termite mounds that they live in. They can’t survive for long in an Oxygen-Nitrogen, because they lack an exoskeleton, so you don’t often see them outside of the nest.
no subject
Date: 2005-04-21 10:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-21 10:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-21 10:31 pm (UTC)