Allan and Connie - wandering about in a caravan - Winter 2018

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Whether you have been here before or not.. WELCOME! I'm not much of a photographer but I enjoy taking photos that [to me] seem unusual or interesting. Sometimes I think they are funny, sometimes strange and sometimes R rated. In any case you are encouraged to put comments in the visitors book. I hope I can make you smile or even giggle a bit.

The excitement started when this helicopter landed in MY paddock!

Then a truck dropped off this device which appears to be an alcohol fermenting drum. It has a hole in the bottom with a fan? that is driven with a petrol motor! Will we all become alcoholics at the same time? The body and legs were removed before it was finally used.

The stainless steel container [alcohol fermenting drum?] was tied to the underneath of the helicopter with long ropes.

A huge bag of mixed up sugar, chemicals and water was emptied into the container [apparently NOT an alcohol fermenting drum!] and the helicopter hoisted it into the air.

The helicopter could be heard in the distance running back and forth over the nearby bush land. It returned every 15 minutes for the rest of the day and the [alcohol fermenting drum?] was refilled each time.

And THIS is what it's all about ... "Crazy Yellow Ants". The yellow crazy ant is listed as one of the top 100 worst invasive species by the IUCN and the Global Invasive Species Database. They are a category three restricted pest under the Biosecurity Act 2014. As such, all citizens have a general biosecurity obligation to minimise the risk of further infestation by informing the Queensland Government of potential yellow crazy ant sightings.

Yellow crazy ants are named after their distinctive erratic, frantic, movements when disturbed.

While the exact origin of yellow crazy ants remains unclear, their current distribution extends through the tropical islands of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, including Papua New Guinea, Mauritius and South East Asia where they are a major pest. This broad distribution is undeniably linked to human movement activities such as cargo ships and trade which has ultimately led them to Australian shorelines.

In Australia, yellow crazy ants are now present in a number of sites throughout Queensland and Arnhem Land. Specifically in the Cairns region, there are localised infestations in Gordonvale, Edmonton, Bentley Park, Bayview Heights and Russett Park (Kuranda), where yellow crazy ants are found in a variety of habitats including residential areas, sugarcane fields and rainforest.

This ant species falls under the subfamily ‘Forminicae’ because they do not have a stinger, and their pincers are notably reduced. In place of a stinger, yellow crazy ants have an acidopore (a small opening at the tip of their abdomen that sprays formic acid) as their defence and attack mechanism.

Dogs are quite different to yellow crazy ants because they bite if disturbed enough. They mostly live in caravan parks but have poor toiletry habits. The ones that have learnt to read usually observe these signs - but no guarantees.

Townsville has a much bigger problem with .. er .. um .. graffitti, or is it murals?

Bloody hell, some work went into this factory wall.

Beats me?