Ants and Woodland

It has been a while since the last blog entry. Other matters have taken up time but now with the days already wonderfully long - daylight from 6am till 8pm - I have a little more time to go and explore and observe once more.

Having moved, new 'hunting grounds' are available. One of which is an area of woodland only 5 minutes from my doorstep. Parts of it are said to be ancient.

It appears 'from the outside' a small area but once inside, it is an never ending oasis of small worlds to discover. It is riddled with wide and narrow footpath, some frequently used, others hardly visible. A stream enters the woodland, gently making its way over stones and filling the area with relaxing sounds of water as it flows over stones. The stream makes its way through the woodland, its winding path offering some great views with its banks full of Woodland Anemone. Soon the ground will be covered in bluebells.

The woodland has many 'micro' worlds, offering home to many creatures and it is filled with the sing song of birds. I shall film it one day.

Now covered with Woodland Anemone, soon to be followed by a carpet of blue bells.

But my main reason for coming here are a very particular type of insect: the woodland Ants. There are at least 4 huge nests in this woodland and all the ants are busy going about their daily tasks. If I time it right I can 'catch' them while they still 'wake up'. 

The ants are very sluggish early in the morning, just like most of us once we have managed to crawl from under the duvet. While in our case its mostly tiredness, in the ant's case it is most likely due to temperature rises; I have noticed them being much slower in cold temperatures, but when I go and re-visit when it has warmed up, they all move much quicker and in far greater numbers.  This in turn is a challenge for my photography as I don't use a tripod or any other help but my steady hands. But there is a limit to how calmly I can follow an ant racing up and down the stem of a tree ... hence why I prefer to visit them early when they are slower, and less bothered by my presence.

 Some sort of exchange - whenever two ants cross paths, a quick exchange of some sort takes place, it doesn't always look friendly. Perhaps the ant on the right is being told off for being lazy ... ;)

This little excited chap above was not at all keen on my lens being so close up. They are certainly not shy! While other insects fly off and go and hide, these little creatures are a feisty bunch and stand their ground; size doesn't matter!

While others are far more interested to make a good appearance ... such as this little ant here, not at all bothered by my lens and it spent ages grooming itself.

The woodland is filled with very old fir trees. Their bark is a fantastic background! I spent some time observing this ant (above and below) and wasn't quite sure what it was trying to do; you may just be able to make it out: there are some strands of spider silk spun across the bark. For some reason, this ant kept walking into them, only to then spend ages struggling to get out. It did this several times. Not sure what the purpose of the exercise was.

If meant to be I shall return to my little friends over the weekend. A most amusing and astounding bunch to observe.