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Post by Honeydewman on Jul 4, 2008 19:36:25 GMT
I have had a very nice surprise. Beneath my Lasius Niger Ant Farm I have a Bumble Bee colony. They are the Orange abdomen variety. My Ant farm is set within a purposely built structure that allows me to create a Moat around the Tank. Beneath the Tank is an area of builders sand in which the Bees have nested. Now the funny thing is that regularly the smaller workers fall in my Childrens swimming pool and I have to fish them out. Now, the Bees I recover sit on my hand, without stinging me, drying in the Sun and lap up sugar water which I place in front of them. Now I have the suspicion that they are deliberately going for a swim to get the sugar water and it always seems to be the same 3 Bees... It is the same for Bumble Bees as with Ants with regard to the size of the first workers but the sad thing is that in Autumn the colony will turn upon the Queen and kill her. At the other side of the area beneath my 6 foot Ant Farm I have a nest of Field Mice. They regularly feed upon the fruits I leave for my Niger and Myrmica Rubra. To date I have seen 8 mice. In my 2 Ponds I have Great crested Newts and Hundreds of Juvenile Frogs and Toads. My Garden is split into 2 and on my side is the wildlife and areas left to Nature. The other side is dedicated to my Children, the other wildlife... ;D ;D My Children find it fascinating and to be true so do I...
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Post by Jenny on Jul 5, 2008 5:59:55 GMT
Your garden sounds lovely and big, I think the wildlife have you well trained now It sounds like that film "Babe" only with insects ;D I seem to be over-run with wild nigers here. I have given up keeping a tidy garden as they are now building small mounds within my plants, and digging up sand everywhere as they open up their tunnels. So at the moment it looks like a wild country garden, but on the small side. I find as I get older I seem to be spending more time in it, rather than doing the housework
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