Summer
Wildlife
Christmas
Beetles
Christmas Beetles on my Swamp
Mahogany Trees.
You know that it is summer in
Australia when the Christmas beetles arrive. They appear just
before Christmas, stay for a few weeks and then disappear. Word
has it that they watch the children to see if they are being good
and then take messages back to Santa Claus.
& Cicadas
A Cicada Shell. Adult Cicada
on the Pepper Tree.
And then the cicadas arrive.
The bush is alive with the sound of cicadas. The noise can be
quite deafening. Cicada eggs are laid on leaves and when the larva
hatches, it burrows into the soil and sucks sap from plant roots.
It may stay there for years but eventually comes out of the soil
and has partly formed wings. It climbs onto a plant, its skin
splits along the back and an adult cicada emerges. Its discarded
shell remains on the leaf when the cicada flies off.
& Snakes
Summer also brings the snakes
out of hibernation. The snake most commonly seen on our property
is the red bellied black snake. Yes it is poisonous but if you
keep out of its way then it will keep out of your way. That's
the theory, anyway.
But a green tree snake has taken
up residence in the ice cream bean tree alongside our verandah.
It is harmless (I think - hope) unless you are a frog.
Snake on My Verandah.
This snake is longer that I am
tall and here is its discarded skin wrapped around the branch
of the tree.
Snake skin up close is quite
fascinating:
January, 01
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